Cavaliers at Hawks
Atlanta forward DeMarre Carroll is questionable for Friday when the
Hawks try to rebound from a series-opening loss to the visiting
Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals. Carroll
injured his left knee late in the opener when he landed awkwardly and an
MRI exam performed Thursday determined he suffered a bruised bone.
There were fears Carroll suffered a major injury but the examination ruled out structural, ligament and cartilage damage, so he is expected to return to play in the series. If Carroll can’t play on Friday, guard Kent Bazemore is expected to move into the starting lineup and that would represent a huge dropoff from Carroll, who is considered Atlanta’s top defender. Cleveland won the opener 97-89 and shooting guard J.R. Smith was tremendous while setting a franchise postseason record with eight 3-pointers en route to 28 points. “Once I start shooting,” Smith told reporters, “everybody keeps telling me to keep shooting.”
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: While Smith’s marksmanship was superb, coach David Blatt was just as pleased with his defense and rebounding. “I’d love to know when the last time a guy made eight 3s and got eight rebounds,” Blatt said in his postgame press conference. “I don’t remember but I’m sure it’s happened. That’s pretty unusual.” Forward LeBron James was unstoppable for the most part with 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists and posted his 52nd playoff performance of at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists, breaking the record set by Michael Jordan.
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Losing the series opener at home and giving up homecourt advantage was a blow to Atlanta, and the players are fully aware that heading to Cleveland in a 0-2 hole would be a highly undesirable position. “Just got to come out fighting and come out ready to play with a lot of intensity,” point guard Jeff Teague told reporters. “It’s going to be a war the next couple of games. We know that. So it’s a must-win for us next game with our backs against the wall.” Teague had a solid opener with 27 points while power forward Paul Millsap (13 points on 3-of-11 shooting) and backup point guard Dennis Schroder (six points on 2-of-10) had poor outings.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cavaliers PF Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 10 rebounds in Game 1 for his fourth double-double in five games.
2. Atlanta SG Kyle Korver is averaging 5.2 points on 33.3 percent shooting over the past five games.
3. Cleveland PG Kyrie Irving aggravated a knee injury in the opener but plans to play in Game 2.