OAKLAND -- The visiting locker room had a quiet, almost angry feel to it Sunday night at Oracle Arena. The low murmur of media conversations overrode any noise coming from the Cleveland Cavaliers players.
LeBron James sat in his locker stall with his feet buried in two two buckets of ice. Coming off another star-level performance, one of the greatest players of all-time bobbed his head slightly to music playing into through earbuds while staring stoically towards a spot somewhere near the ceiling.
Eye contact with King James was off the table.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are searching for answers. After a historic Game 1, featuring a 51-point night from James, Game 2 had a completely different vibe. Without an outlandish scoring outburst from one of the legends of the game, the Cavs fell to the Golden State Warriors by a final of 122-103.
Is it over? That's yet to be seen. The series heads back to Cleveland, where the Cavs are 8-1 during the postseason. The Warriors are a different beast, but James isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
"We're talking about basketball here," James said following the loss. "It seems like I come up here and tell you guys this all the time. The odds have been stacked up against me since I was an adolescent."
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James still managed to post 29 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, barely missing a triple-double performance. After controlling most of the action in Game 1, the 14-time All-Star tried to get his teammates involved in Game 2.
Kevin Love showed up to play on the offensive end, dropping in 22 points on 3-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. He added 10 rebounds, giving him back-to-back 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles.
After a quiet first game, George Hill made an impact in Game 2. The veteran point guard finished with 15 points, but 12 of those came in the first half. He went just 1-of-3 after the intermission as the Warriors pulled away.
Tristan Thompson was the only other player in the Cavs rotation to score in double figures, dropping in 11 points in 23 minutes of action.
James needs more from his rotation players and he's not getting it. J.R. Smith scored just five points in 31 minutes of action. After a disastrous blunder in Game 1, it was expected that the veteran shooting guard would make a positive impact on Sunday. Instead, he disappeared.
Kyle Korver missed all three of his shots against Golden State and has now scored a total of three points in 33 minutes of action through two games.
"We know with Korver since he's been here they do a good job of locking into him," Lue said of Korver. "Anything we run for him, they switch out, deny and take it away. So if he's not getting shots, it's tough on him because he's not going to beat too many people off the dribble."
Cleveland signed Jeff Green specifically for this matchup and so far, he's been a dud as well through two games. The 31-year-old forward scored seven points in 36 minutes in Game 1 and just six points in 20 minutes in Game 2. He's hit just 1-of-8 from behind the arc so far in the series after knocking down 32.1 percent through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
"Jeff could be more assertive, I think," Lue said. "Be more aggressive offensively, not just settle for threes, attacking the basket because of his athleticism and his power and strength of going to the basket. So just got to work with that."
Outside of James, Love and Hill, the Cavs are getting very little production on the offensive end. If someone doesn't step forward soon, the series will be over quickly.
Jordan Clarkson was brought in as a scorer and he's failed miserably so far. Rodney Hood averaged 16.8 points per game for Utah this season before coming over in trade and now he's out of the rotation completely.
"I put our team in position to try to win a championship, to compete for a championship," James said. "You know, it's my job to make sure that we're as focused, laser-focused as possible, do my job, and continue to instill confidence into my teammates until the last horn sounds."
The series continues Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs season is hanging in the balance. They have two days to find some answers before hosting a red-hot Warriors team hungry for a second straight title.
| Game | Result/Schedule |
|---|---|
| Game 1 | Warriors 124, Cavs 114 (OT) |
| Game 2 | Warriors 122, Cavs 103 |
| Game 3 | Cleveland -- Wednesday, June 6 at 6pm |
| Game 4 | Cleveland -- Friday, June 8 at 6pm |
| Game 5 | Oakland -- Monday, June 11 at 6pm |
| Game 6 | Cleveland -- Thursday, June 14 at 6pm |
| Game 7 | Oakland -- Sunday, June 17 at 5pm |
