Before the tipoff, both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks had something to prove in this series. On the Hawks’ side of the fence they wanted to take away the other role players that could damage their chances of coming out with a victory. They wanted to make LeBron James pass first before he gets to the middle of the floor. The middle of the floor is where James is lethal and the Hawks wanted to minimize the area where James is so accurate at. 
On the Cavaliers’ side of the fence they wanted to take Kyle Korver out the game and make him more of a driver than a set shooter. They also wanted to limit offensive boards and block out defensively, The Hawks are known to create more second chance opportunities if they box their opponent out or just outplay them.
As the game unfolded, you could see the Cavs pushing the ball effectively down the court. They passed on first shot opportunities and dished it out to the better option. J.R. Smith was the hero in this game. He came out the gate hot as pepper spray. He shot from the field 8-12 and make history with the most threes in a playoff game. He finished the game with twenty eight points. “When he gets hot,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said, “he gets smoking hot.”
While the Hawks had trouble stopping Smith, James had surge in the second quarter and could not be stop. He just edge his team late in the fourth quarter to pull out a victory. He finished the game 12-26 from the field with thirty one points.
As the Hawks try to regain their composure for Game two, they are having a hard time with a huge obstacle in front of them. DeMarre Carroll went down with a knee injury driving to the basket with 4:59 remaining. He was helped to the locker room, not putting any weight on his left leg, and will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine the seriousness. “DeMarre is a complete player,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He has a big impact at both ends of the court.”
Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 27 points, but all together the team did not play to their potential.