SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs held LeBron James
without a field goal in the first half and led the Cleveland
Cavaliers 40-35 in Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night.
Tim Duncan scored 14 points and Tony Parker had 12 for the
Spurs, who mostly relied on their defense while occasionally
struggling offensively in their first game in more than a week.
James was 0-for-7 from the field midway through his first NBA
finals appearance, scoring four points on free throws and
committing two turnovers. Sasha Pavlovic scored eight points and
Daniel Gibson had seven to keep Cleveland close, but the Cavs shot
only 36 percent (13-of-36).
The Spurs are playing for their fourth championship since 1999,
while the Cavs are in the finals for the first time. Though San
Antonio is the clear favorite, Cleveland is hoping a defense
patterned after the Spurs -- Cavs coach Mike Brown was an assistant
to Gregg Popovich here for three years -- and plenty of James on
offense would be enough to pull the upset
But as great as James is, that can probably only happen if his
supporting cast plays well.
"You don't get here alone," commissioner David Stern said
before the game. "Not even the greatest of the great get here
alone."
But it was James, not his teammates, who struggled to get going.
Duncan sent James' second shot right back at him, and James then
had to force a 3-pointer as the shot clock was set to expire. He
had a gaffe in the second quarter when his attempt at a crosscourt
pass hit the rim and flew back over his head into the seats.
With Cavs counterpart Larry Hughes battling a sore foot, the
speedy Parker started aggressively, driving into the lane and
setting up easy chances for himself or Duncan, the three-time
finals MVP who began his quest for a fourth by shooting 5-of-8 in
the first half.
Parker landed hard after getting fouled on a drive to the hoop
midway through the first quarter, with Pavlovic landing on top of
him. But he quickly shook that off and shot 6-of-13 and had five
assists in the half.
Shortly after another champion, American Idol winner Jordin
Sparks, sang the national anthem, the Spurs started quickly.
San Antonio made seven of its first nine shots, starting with
the first finals points of Michael Finley's 12-year career. Parker
and Duncan took over from there as the Spurs pushed the lead to
16-10 on Duncan's free throws with 6:17 remaining in the quarter.
The defenses took over from there
Cleveland missed nine of its final 10 shots in the first period
and finished 6-of-18. James missed all four attempts, but the Cavs
trailed only 20-15. They took a three-point lead midway through the
second before Parker and Duncan keyed a run that gave the Spurs a
33-26 lead with a little more than 3 minutes to play in the half.
Game 2 is Sunday night before the NBA finals move to Cleveland
for the first time on Tuesday.