Cavs blown out with James held in check

Asked and answered: If LeBron James doesn’t score 50-plus points, the Cavaliers don’t have much chance against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

After scoring 51 in the 124-114 Game 1 overtime loss on May 31, James was held to 29 in Game 2 on June 3. The Cavaliers were demolished, 122-103, and head home for Game 3 on June 6 at Quicken Loans Arena staggering under the weight of being down two games to none in the best-of-seven series.

The Cavs were in the same situation two years ago and won four of the next five to win the championship. They were down 2-0 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals this year and prevailed.

The Cavaliers aren’t finished, but another comeback would indeed be a miracle surpassing anything James has done in his career.

The Warriors played better defense against James after adjusting from Game 1. They were content to let him pass and set up his teammates with 13 assists, but they weren’t going to let James beat them by himself.

James attempted 32 shots and made 19 of them in 47 minutes in the series opener. He was 3-of-7 from three point range.

Playing with an uglylooking red eye after being poked by Draymond Green in Game 1, James attempted 17 shots in the first three quarters and just three more in the final period before Coach Tyronn Lue conceded and pulled James with five minutes to play.

Just about everything about the Cavaliers in the aftermath of Game 1 seemed to center on questionable officiating and

J.R. Smith not knowing the score was tied in the final seconds of regulation.

Golden State, meanwhile, spent the two days before Game 2 working on ways clamp down on James and play more like the Warriors who won the NBA championship two out of the last three years. For them, Game 1 was a reminder the Cavaliers interrupted their dominance in the Finals.

As much Lue and his players said Game 1 was behind them, they started Game 2 sluggishly by letting the Warriors dominate the paint with quick passes for easy layups and dunks.

The Cavaliers never led in Game 2. They made runs, but the Warriors did not fold.

Golden State led, 15-6, before the game was four minutes old. The message Lue delivered during a timeout he called stemmed the Warrior attack, but only temporarily.

Every time the Cavaliers made a charge, the Warriors responded. Golden State led, 59-46, at halftime.

The third period has been Golden State’s golden quarter in the playoffs, but the Cavs cut into the lead and got within 82-77 on a bucket by James, but they never got closer.

The Warriors were a symphony of passing and shooting. It was the game the analysts expected when they made Golden State overwhelming favorites when before the series began.

The Cavaliers played better defense against the Steph Curry than the box score shows. Curry scored 33 points. He was 9-of-17 on three-pointers.

Klay Thompson, playing on a sprained ankle, scored 20 points in 33 minutes and Kevin Durant, hitting 10 of 14 shots from the field, finished with 26 points.

The Cavaliers have lost only one home game in the playoffs this year. They will have to be phenomenal in Game 3 to keep that streak going.