Tyronn Lue: Cleveland Cavaliers Not 'Broken' After Game 1 Loss To Warriors

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue insists his side were "not broken" following the demoralizing way they lost Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night at the Oracle Arena.

Inspired by a 51-point display from LeBron James, it looked like the Cavaliers, notably one of the least favored teams to win the NBA Finals, would win Game 1 against all the odds.

With the Warriors leading 107-106, Klay Thompson fouled Cavaliers guard George Hill to send him to the free throw line with a chance to give the visitors a crucial lead with just 4.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

However, he would miss his second free throw after burying the first, as the ball was then rebounded by J.R. Smith, who instead of trying to follow up with a shot, dribbled out the clock before realizing too late Cleveland didn't have the lead as Game 1 eventually went into overtime.

Whether Smith would have made the layup or not if he attempted it, it was a huge moment in the game as the Warriors would eventually win in overtime 124-114 to take a 1-0 series lead.

James in the process, became the first player to score at least 50 points in a Finals game and still lose as images of him looking perplexed at Smith's decision became viral on social media.

In addition, there was another crucial moment just moments earlier as Warriors forward Kevin Durant was called for charging on James with just 36.4 seconds remaining as the Cavs held a two-point lead at the time.

However, it would be overturned to a foul on James on replay — a decision which Lue felt robbed the Cavs. It was one thing to lose to a dominating performance but the fact that the Cleveland side could have stolen Game 1 serves as a huge missed opportunity.

Regardless, Lue claimed his team's confidence was not affected and they will be moving on as they now have a blueprint to operate on.

"Listen, we're not broken -- we lost a game," Lue said on a conference call with reporters Friday, as per ESPN. "You got to win four in this series -- we understand that and it was a tough game for us. We played well enough to win but we didn't, so now we've got to move on."

"They guys' confidence is not shaken. We see what we need to do and how we need to perform to win. We have the blueprint and now we need to execute at a higher level."

Meanwhile, Hill's blushes were spared thanks to Smith's blunder; however, he still felt guilty about his missed free throw as he reflected on the end of Game 1.

"This one hurt, this one hurt bad with a lot of things that went on," Hill said. "I felt like the team did a great job, put [ourselves] in a great chance to win the game, and me not hitting a free throw, kind of feel like I cost our team the win."

"I stayed up most of the night. Rewatching the free throw, rewatching the play, just going over my head what I think went wrong and things like that. As a player, a competitive guy, I was put in a situation to help my team win a game and I didn't come through. So for me, it sucked, it was one of the worst feelings ever. But I have great teammates that [have] been in my ear even last night and this morning telling me to forget about it, continue to just focus on the next game and don't let it linger."