Celtics at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers steamrolled their way to consecutive victories in Boston and look to take a 3-0 series lead when they host the Celtics in Sunday's Eastern Conference finals' matchup. Cleveland dominated play in the opening two games and annihilated the Celtics 130-86 in Friday's Game 2 and Boston also will be without point guard Isaiah Thomas (hip) for the rest of the postseason..
The second-seeded Cavaliers are 10-0 this postseason and tied the NBA record of 13 straight playoff wins (set by the 1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers) but Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue asserts that top-seeded Boston is still in the series. "It's one game. I don't care if you win by 200 points," Lue said in the press conference after Game 2. "We're going back home, we're not going to get comfortable. We understand that this is a good team. They're not No. 1 in the East for no reason." Boston trailed 72-31 at halftime and narrowly avoided suffering the worst playoff defeat in franchise history, and there were a lot of sad faces pondering how to recover from such a beat down. "It's hard to take," center Al Horford told reporters. "We've worked really hard and put ourselves in this position to be here. It's been tough for our group. (Game 2) was real rough, there's no other way to put it. It's definitely a low point for our group."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CELTICS: The Game 2 whipping was bad enough but Thomas aggravated a hip injury in the first half and had just two points on 0-of-6 shooting before sitting out the second half. Thomas' play has dropped over the past week and it turns out the hip was examined after Game 6 of the second-round series against the Washington Wizards, and doctors shut him down to reduce the chances of long-term damage. "Isaiah brings a lot to this team, not just with his leadership but his play," shooting guard Avery Bradley told reporters prior to the decision. "Most important, I just hope he's better. I care about him off the floor. I just hope he's OK."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James isn't among the three finalists for NBA MVP honors for the first time since 2008 but he has been unstoppable in the playoffs with averages of 34.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists. James insisted he didn't know about the MVP development prior to the game but he certainly appeared motivated while recording 30 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots in Game 2. "My only job is to try to be the MVP for this team every night," James told reporters after Game 2. "I know what I bring to the table. This league knows what I bring to the table."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James has scored 30 points in eight consecutive playoff games, the top streak since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had nine straight 30-point efforts in the 1970 postseason for the Milwaukee Bucks.
2. Rookie backup SF Jaylen Brown has been a bright spot for Boston by averaging 14.5 points on 12-of-18 shooting in the first two games.
3. Cleveland PF Kevin Love is 10-for-18 from 3-point range in the series while averaging 26.5 points and 12 rebounds.