Over the past five seasons, the Golden State Warriors have used May to prepare for another NBA Finals series. However, in 2020 the Warriors playoff future is already decided. With a league-worst 15-50 record, Golden State became the first team to be officially eliminated from the 2020 playoff dance.
With no hoops on the docket, Warriors Wire is looking back into Golden State’s playoff history for standout performances and matchups worthy of a rewatch.
The last day of May marks the anniversary of the start of another Golden State series against LeBron James. In 2018, James kicked off the Finals with a career-best performance.
May 31, 2018
For the fourth consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors matched up with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. In game one of the 2018 series, the Warriors and Cavaliers battled for 48 minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
With four seconds remaining, George Hill missed a free throw that would’ve given the Cavaliers a one-point lead. Even with Hill’s miss, the Cavs had another shot at winning the game when Cleveland’s J.R. Smith came down with the rebound. Instead of attempting a putback at the rim, Smith dribbled the ball out towards halfcourt as time expired. Smith appeared to believe the Cavs had the lead instead of a tie game.
Behind a pair of 3-pointers from Klay Thompson, the Warriors were able to steal the game in overtime, outscoring the Cavaliers 17-7 in the extra period to win the game, 124-114.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field. The two-time MVP added nine assists and six rebounds. Kevin Durant was right behind Curry with 26 points, nine boards and six assists.
In Golden State’s victory, James turned in a postseason career-high scoring night. The four-time MVP tallied 51 points on 19-of-32 shooting from the field with eight assists and eight rebounds. James became the sixth player in Finals history to drop 50 or more points and the first to do so in a loss. Kevin Love (21) and Smith (10) were the only Cavaliers to score in double-figures.
Watch highlights from the Warriors game one win via YouTube:
The Warriors went on to sweep the Cavaliers in four games to earn their third Finals banner in four years.
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