The Cavs may have just given away any chance to win this series

The Cleveland Cavaliers choked away a game that was never supposed to be theirs, on the road against arguably the greatest team of all time, and they have to feel awful. Despite a clear talent disparity, LeBron James’ 51 points carried the way for Cleveland to hold a one-point deficit with George Hill at the foul line to shoot free throws in the closing 4.7 seconds.

He made the first. He missed the second.

Then, J.R. Smith caught an offensive rebound he unthinkably dribbled outside the paint and accidentally killed the remaining time. Cleveland had to play an overtime it never should’ve been in, and floundered.

A 122-114 loss does not at all represent how close the Cavaliers were to stealing this game. And to top it all of, a last-second fight between Tristan Thompson and Draymond Green, preceded by trash-talking between Klay Thompson and LeBron James ended the game.

This has to sting so badly for Cleveland.

To explain how good James was, you have to look at how he was able to dominate.

Without Andre Iguodala on the floor, he was able to drive past any defender on the perimeter to dunk and lay in shots as he pleased around the rim. He hit a flurry of outside looks, but he made the bulk of his cash right around the hoop, which is exactly where the Warriors didn’t want him. Even a poke to the face from Draymond Green that caused a bright red, damaged eye couldn’t stop The King.

James scored 51 points on 19-of-32 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists in a loss that brought on-court emotion from someone who is usually good at containing it. After swatting a last-second Curry layup, the team’s stars got in each other’s faces to talk smack. James followed that conversation with a less-than-friendly one with Klay Thompson.

That never happens.

A 50-point playoff game isn’t all that common for James. Not because he can’t score that many, but because he usually plays a bigger role as a facilitator. Not this night.

And the Cavs wasted it.

Love has struggled in each of his two Finals appearances against the Warriors. Sometimes he’d been unplayable, missing shots and failing to run the floor as quickly as some of the Warriors Hall of Fame talents. That couldn’t have been less true in Game 1.

Love scored 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including 13 rebounds. He hit mid-range shots, battled on the boards, and played a solid supplementary role to James. He filled the lanes he hasn’t consistently throughout the year.

With James scorching and Love playing well, Cleveland had to win this one.

They didn’t.

Durant scored 26 points, but it took him 22 shots and he hit only one of his seven attempts from three-point range. That might be a fine night for most players, but not for Durant. His shot never looked quite right, and he hit the back of the rim a number of times and couldn’t correct himself.

It’s hard to pin Durant’s struggles on the Cavs great defense. Because the Cavs didn’t play great defense. Instead, Durant missed a number of looks he typically makes. He’ll probably hit them in Game 2.

With LeBron playing one of the best games of his historically great career, Kevin Love being the player he hasn’t been and Durant having a shaky night, this win should’ve been the Cavs’.

Nobody knows if the same pieces will align in Game 2 or Game 3 or again in this series, and they’ll look back and in frustration of what was one free throw, or one bone-headed play away.