James, Cavaliers bettors get burned in OT

At the end of an incredible night, LeBron James deserved better. He should have walked off the floor as the hero in a huge road win to open the NBA Finals.

But life is not always fair and is full of disappointment — especially if you’re from Cleveland — and a gambler’s existence can be a microcosm of life. One day you walk around lucky, and the next you’re a loser. This was a game of luck, with nobody getting what he deserved.

James scored 44 points Thursday and walked off incredibly disappointed, same as everyone who bet on his Cavaliers.

At the end of the night, Golden State stole the game and the money in a 108-100 overtime victory over Cleveland that exceeded the hype. We waited more than a week for this, and it was worth it.

“I think it’s going to go seven,” Golden Nugget sports book director Tony Miller said, “and the Warriors win the last game at home.”

If there is a Game 7, it’s difficult to imagine it being more dramatic than Game 1. It was a game with a lot of LeBron and a little bit of everything else, including bizarre betting results on the side and total.

The Cavaliers, 6-point underdogs, controlled a majority of the four quarters before imploding in the final five minutes. Overtime is where ’dogs go to die, with this ’dog going scoreless until James made an uncontested layup with nine seconds left.

James’ 3-pointer tied the score at 96 with 2:38 remaining in the fourth. It was tied at 98 when Stephen Curry broke free to the rim for a layup to put the Warriors ahead — until Kyrie Irving caught him from behind and blocked the shot with 24 seconds left. With a shot to win, James missed a fadeaway jumper from 20 feet, and the Cleveland curse was unleashed.

Irving limped off the floor with a leg injury as the Cavaliers broke down on the offensive end, one futile possession after another. The Warriors covered the spread, and their bettors were walking around lucky. The score went over the total of 204 — with no help from Cleveland — with 1:15 remaining in overtime.

A message to those who bet the underdog and under the total: Take a day or two off from gambling and stay away from sharp objects.

James had a phenomenal game, shooting 18 for 38 from the field and adding eight rebounds and six assists. He easily topped his proposition total of 29½ points, but at least two other props were decided in overtime.

Curry made his only four free throws in overtime, going over his prop of 3½ free throws. The point total for the Warriors (104) also went over in the extra five minutes.

This is a dream Finals matchup. James is an unstoppable force. The Warriors’ shooters pull the fastest guns in the West, and they can erase a deficit as quickly as Curry can pull the trigger.

Cleveland led 29-15 late in the first quarter after J.R. Smith hit a 3. Golden State rallied for a 39-36 lead after back-to-back 3s from Curry, who was perfect from the field in the second quarter while scoring or assisting on 18 of his team’s 20 points during one stretch.

“When did we last have the two elite stars of the NBA in the Finals? LeBron and Curry are at the peak of their careers,” said Micah Roberts, an analyst for “The Linemakers” on SportingNews.com and former book director.

Curry finished with 26 points, under his prop total of 28½. The Cavaliers, surprisingly strong defensively in the playoffs, did what they had to do against Curry.

Golden State’s high-speed offense has stalled at times, and it was 11-3-1 under the total in playoffs going into the Finals. It’s a different game this time of year, a slower game, and Cleveland is a blue-collar team capable of making things ugly.

“The Cavs are just tougher,” Roberts said. “One problem with the Warriors is they have no inside game. If you can attack them inside and outrebound them, you can fare well.”

At 30, James is a grizzled veteran with a full beard and a receding hairline. It seems he has been around forever. But he still has young legs, and he never has been better than he is now.

Time will tell if James’ experience, and the Warriors’ lack of it, will make a difference. Golden State is the first team since the Utah Jazz in 1997 to reach the Finals with no players with Finals experience. This is James’ fifth straight trip.

It will end with his third Finals loss in five years if Irving is unable to return at something close to full speed. The team that has won Game 1 of the Finals has a 48-20 series record, so the Cavaliers are already walking uphill after losing one they probably deserved to win.

The Warriors closed as around minus-220 series favorites, but Miller said, “It’s mostly square money on Cleveland.”

Life is not always fair, and bad beats are inevitable, but there’s time to bounce back. This still should be a long series, and James is not going quietly.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.