by Jim SLATER
OAKLAND, United States (AFP) — Shaun Livingston injured his left leg so badly during a 2007 NBA game that there was talk of amputation and he needed months of rehabilitation just to walk again.
So when the defending champion Golden State Warriors needed a spark off the bench to fight off a Cleveland rally in Thursday’s opening game of the NBA Finals, it was no surprise Livingston had the grit and determination to see them through.
The 30-year-old American guard scored 20 points to lead seven double-figure scorers as the Warriors beat the Cavaliers 104-89, their reserves outscoring the Cavaliers’ bench 45-10.
“Obviously the game ball goes to Shaun Livingston,” Cavaliers star LeBron James said. “Came in, gave them a huge spark.”
“Shaun Livingston played out of his mind,” Golden State’s Klay Thompson said.
Livingston was a high school star who skipped college to turn professional and was taken fourth overall in the 2004 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, the first of nine NBA stops in his career.
In a February 2007 game against Charlotte, Livingston dislocated his left kneecap after landing awkwardly following a shot. His leg snapped sideways, tearing ligaments and dislocating his patella. The horrific injury required 20 months of recovery work before he was able to return to the NBA, missing an entire season.
But after coming back from that, it’s hard to imagine being discouraged by anything defenders throw at him in a game.
“Shaun’s a guy who has battled through much more than having to step up in a game,” said Golden State teammate Draymond Green. “He has been from the top to the bottom and back. And when you go through so much in life and his career, I mean, it makes stepping up in the game easy.”
Livingston, whose 6-foot-7 (2.01m) frame gives him an edge in matchups with most guards, hit 8-of-10 shots from the floor overall and sparked a 15-0 Warriors run over the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth that broke open a tight game for good.
“He’s a competitor,” Green said. “He’s never going to get outside of who he is. He’s going to get to his spots and raise up and knock shots down. And he’s a very smart player, so he knows how to get behind defense and find openings. Him stepping up the way he did was huge for us, along with the rest of the bench.”
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry finds Livingston especially tough to stop when he defends him in practice.
“Sometimes there’s really nothing you can do about it. You try to just contest his shot, but sometimes he won’t even see you,” Curry said. “I’ll play the best defense of my life and he’ll knock down a shot.”
js/dw
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