The Cleveland Cavaliers had a series of unfortunate events at the end of regulation in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Thursday night, and the game-deciding plays began on the defensive end of the floor.
The Cavaliers has a two-point lead over the Warriors with less than 40 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when small forward LeBron James appeared to take a charge from Golden State forward Kevin Durant, but upon replay review, James was whistled for a blocking foul.
Durant sunk the ensuing free throws and knotted the game up, and the Warriors went on to post a 124-114 win over the Cavaliers and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which will continue in Oakland on Sunday night.
“I thought I read that play just as well as I read any play in my career, defensively,” James said after the loss. “I’ve seen the drive. I was outside the charge line. I stepped in, took the contact. It's a huge play. It's a huge play.
“I read that play just as well as I've read any play in my career, maybe in my life. I’d seen the play happening. I knew I was outside the charge line, and I knew I took the hit. I don't know what else to say.”
PHOTOS: Cleveland Cavaliers battle Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of 2018 NBA Finals
Originally, the official on the baseline ruled that Durant committed the charge, but it appeared as though he hesitated before completing the call. Then, after a brief meeting, the officials reviewed the play, and the call was reversed.
According to James, based on the information the Cavaliers had, they felt the team would be awarded the ball with a chance to build onto their two-point lead in the final seconds.
“We were told they were reviewing if I had my feet outside the line, and when I knew that, I was like, ‘Okay, that's going to be our ball,’” James said. “I knew I was outside the charge line, so that's what the communication was to us. We were over on the sideline, drawing up a play, you know, to try to execute, try to go up a couple possessions.”
NBA referee Ken Mauer, the crew chief for Game 1, and fellow official Tony Brothers met with a pool reporter from the Associated Press following the contest, and they did admit to initiating the review to see if James was outside of the restricted area.
And although James was outside of the restricted area, there was enough contact to make the game-altering call.
“Over at the table, we then are allowed to determine whether or not he was in a legal guarding position,” Mauer said. “It was determined he was out of the restricted area, but he was not in a legal guarding position prior to Durant’s separate shooting motion, so we had to change it to a blocking foul.”
