Celtics at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have little margin for error as they attempt to begin digging out of a hole when they host the Boston Celtics on Saturday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Boston won the first two games to improve to 9-0 at home in the postseason but the Celtics are just 1-4 on the road.
Cleveland dropped the first two games by an average of 19 points and even a monster Game 2 effort by LeBron James (42 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) on Tuesday couldn't prevent a 13-point loss. "We've got to be tougher, mentally and physically," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We've got to come out swinging. We've got to be aggressive. I think we've got to be physical, and we've got to have a physical mindset, you know, that they're coming in, playing tough. They're aggressive, and we've got to match that." Boston doesn't want to provide a glimmer of hope and is looking to move one step closer to its first NBA Finals berth since 2010. "We're going to have to be really focused, really locked in, really consistent," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "It's even harder to communicate on the road. You've got to be great communicating."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Backup guard Marcus Smart is averaging 10 points, 7.5 assists, four rebounds and 2.5 steals in the series but is just 7-of-21 shooting as part of a struggling Boston bench. "We haven't played well. We understand that," Smart told reporters. "We understand that other teams see that and are going to try to exploit it, but that's the beauty about this game. Just take one game. You never know. Things change. Our confidence is high." Starting shooting guard Jaylen Brown has been solid with back-to-back 23-point outings while center Al Horford is averaging 17.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots over the first two games.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: James was bothered by a strained neck after Game 2 but the extra days of rest figure to leave him near full strength. Someone not operating at a high level is shooting guard JR Smith, who is averaging two points on 2-of-16 shooting (0-of-7 from 3-point range) and committed a controversial flagrant 1 foul on a defenseless Horford in Game 2. "It was a good call," Smith told reporters. "I blatantly pushed him. It wasn't like I was trying to low-bridge him or something to make sure he didn't get it. It was a good, hard foul. I can understand why they gave me a flagrant."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James has topped 40 points five times this postseason and is averaging 33.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.2 assists.
2. Boston SF Jayson Tatum is averaging 13.5 points through two games to follow up a franchise rookie record stretch of seven straight 20-point outings.
3. Cleveland PG George Hill is averaging four points and 0.5 assists in the series.