LeBron’s Cavaliers are desperate to find their feet Curry won’t play in Olympics
Cleveland ( Ohio) June 7: While the Golden State Warriors fight to avoid complacency after two lopsided wins to start the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers hope playing at home will help them find toughness they have so far lacked.
The defending champion Warriors would reach the brink of a repeat crown with a victory Wednesday in the best- of- seven series.
“We’re feeling confident but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said. “It’s a trap to think we’ve figured things out and that we have the perfect formula to beat Cleveland and they have no chance in the series.”
Only three teams have overcome 2- 0 deficits to win the finals — the 1969 Boston Celtics, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 2006 Miami Heat — and no team trailing 3- 0 has ever rallied to win an NBA playoff series.
“The guys are not discouraged. More ( angry) than anything,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We’ve got to be tougher. That’s the main thing. Got to play more physical and live with the results.”
The Warriors beat Cleveland 110- 77 in game two, the fewest points allowed by the Warriors in a playoff game since 1975. They have beaten the Cavaliers seven consecutive times — three in last year’s finals, two this season and twice more in the finals.
Golden State won the first two games by a combined 48 points, the most lopsided start in 70 NBA Finals.
“We understand the situation we’re in. We know we’ve got to play a lot better in order to get this series turned around,” Cavaliers star LeBron James said. “We’re still here. We have a chance to turn this series around. We have to figure out how we can be better.”
After a great deal of internal thought I’ve elected to withdraw my name from the list of eligible players for the Summer Games in Brazil. Due to several factors — including recent ankle and knee injuries — I believe this is the best decision for me at this stage of my career