As a result of Tuesday night’s 107-94 loss, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves trailing the Boston Celtics by a tally of two games to nil in their Eastern Conference Finals series. Boston defended its home court. Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue says it’s time for his team to do the same.
“Don’t let this team off the hook…they won 2 games at home, now it’s our turn,” coach Lue told FOX Sports Ohio’s Fred McLeod after Friday’s practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
The Cavs were leading the Celtics at the halftime mark of Game 2, 55-48. However, Boston managed to chip away at Cleveland’s lead in the second half — a time frame in which the Cavs obviously need to improve on.
LeBron James, who took an inadvertent shoulder to the face in the closing phases of the first half, logged 39 minutes, scoring 42 points on 16-29 shooting from the field (5-11 from beyond the arc), 12 assists, 10 rebounds and one block. The King scored 21 of Cleveland’s 27 points in the first quarter, tying his playoff career-high for points in a period. His lone blocked shot moved him past Elvin Hayes (222) for the 17th-most swats in postseason history.
Cavs big man Kevin Love chipped in 22 points and 15 rebounds. Combined, James and Love accounted for 64 of Cleveland’s 94 points in Game 2. Obviously, some other guys need to step their game up.
“I think I’ll be fine. I’m not going to lose sleep over it. You go out and when you lay everything on the line, at the end of the day, you can live with that,” James told ESPN after Game 2. “They did what they had to do, and that was protect home, and now it’s our time to try to do that, as well.”
Saturday’s Game 3 matchup is set to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 8:30 p.m. EST with ESPN having live broadcast coverage. Let’s see if the Cavs can indeed protect their home court.