Cavaliers at Warriors
LeBron James has been carrying Cleveland throughout the playoffs and his
load will be even heavier when the Cavaliers visit the Golden State
Warriors in Sunday's Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Cleveland point guard
Kyrie Irving underwent surgery to repair a fractured kneecap on Saturday
and joins forward Kevin Love (shoulder) on the sidelines as the
underdog Cavaliers try to even the series with Golden State.
James poured in 44 points in the opener and said his mindset won't be affected by the bad breaks being dealt to his team. "We haven't had much luck and we haven't been healthy, but I haven't gotten discouraged," James said at a press conference. "I understand the moment that I'm in and I'm not too much worried about the game. I'm worried about the moment and I'm happy with the moment." League MVP Stephen Curry led Golden State with 26 points and eight assists in the opener - a 108-100 overtime victory - and said the loss of Irving doesn't mean the Warriors have an easier path to claiming the title. "We can't assume ... that it's going to be a cakewalk for us to get a championship," Curry said at a press conference. It's still going to be tough. We have to control what we control and do what we do."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: Cleveland played just eight players in the opener and veterans like Shawn Marion and Mike Miller never left the bench. The duo could be in line to see some minutes, especially if guards J.R. Smith (3-of-13) and Iman Shumpert (2-of-6) again experience cold shooting performances. Power forward Tristan Thompson had 15 rebounds in the opener but scored just two points and revealed in a press conference that he has to score within the offense because coach David Blatt doesn't call plays for him.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Shooting guard Klay Thompson scored 21 points in the opener and certainly didn't appear hindered by the concussion he suffered in the finale of the Western Conference finals against Houston. "Having a week off really helped," Thompson said at a press conference. "Obviously a little sore. I mean, that's going to happen in your 100th-whatever game." Forward Draymond Green was sluggish offensively - 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting - and had just six rebounds after averaging 13.7 boards over the final three games of the series against the Rockets.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland PG Matthew Dellavedova, who played nine scoreless minutes in Game 1, will start in place of Irving.
2. Golden State SG Andre Iguodala scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the opener.
3. Shumpert is 3-for-14 shooting over the past two games.