Cleveland finally hosts NBA finals
NBA Finals have arrived in Cleveland for the first time in franchise history. Game Three will be played there tonight.
The Cavaliers are banking on the home court edge to help them get back into the series with San Antonio after the Spurs convincingly won the first two games.
But the Cavaliers have found themselves in this situation before. They lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals to Detroit before sweeping the next four to earn a shot at the Spurs and the league title.
For the first time since its 1970 birth as an expansion franchise, Cleveland will host pro basketball`s climactic event, ending a 37-year wait for Cavs fans who sometimes wondered if the day would ever come.
Down 2-0 to the powerful
San Antonio Spurs, the Cavs will look to bounce back in front of their adoring and raucous home crowd, which has helped carry them further in this postseason than they`ve ever been before.
"It`s going to be a great experience for all Cleveland fans, for Northeast Ohio, for the whole state of Ohio," the 22-year-old James said proudly. "It`s going to be electrifying."
It`s been a long road to the finals for the Cavaliers, whose team colors have undergone numerous changes over the years and whose fortunes changed dramatically when the ping pong balls bounced their way in the NBA draft lottery a few years back, giving them the chance to pick James, Akron`s favorite son - now Cleveland`s adopted King.
But all has not gone as planned in this series, dubbed by some as The LeBron James finals.
In the first two games in San Antonio, the Cavaliers looked like lost tourists while being roughed up by the Spurs, who with the exception of a fourth-quarter letdown on Sunday, have toyed with Cleveland.
"San Antonio," Cavs coach Mike Brown said after a 103-92 loss in Game 2, "is a great team."
Bouncing toward their fourth title since 1999, the Spurs have outplayed the Cavs in every facet of the game. They`ve been quicker, tougher, more relentless and much more composed than their Cleveland counterparts.
On Sunday, San Antonio`s Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 78 points, including 68 in the first half when the awesome threesome outscored the Cavs by six.
The Cavaliers made the score respectable, trimming a 29-point deficit to eight in the final minutes before the Spurs stopped giggling, made a few more clutch plays, and finally put them away.
Although it fell short, the fourth-quarter comeback may give the Cavs some confidence going into Game 3.
Duncan didn`t think it exposed any problems for the Spurs.
"Nothing went wrong," the usually stoic center said when asked about San Antonio`s momentary loss of focus. "We won the game right? Isn`t that the point of the whole thing? They made some shots, the whistle was blown and we won the game."
The Spurs are mindful Cleveland can make a greater comeback. They`ve seen it before.
In the 2005 finals, San Antonio destroyed Detroit in the first two games, winning by a combined 46 points, but when the series shifted to Auburn Hills, Mich., the Pistons won by 17 points in Game 3 and 31 in Game 4.
They remember more than the Alamo in San Antonio.
"We need to remember that and learn from our mistakes," said Parker, who had 30 points in Game 2. "That`s enough to make us get ready."
While the Spurs are concerned about finishing games, starting them has been Cleveland`s problem.
Despite having three days to prepare, the Cavs came out flatter than a tortilla for the second straight game. They couldn`t match the Spurs` intensity, made mental errors and costly turnovers, mistakes the experienced Spurs pounced upon.
"We`ve got to play harder than we`re playing right now," Brown said. "There`s nothing magical that`s going to help us. No magic play, no magic defense. We`ve got to bring the juice, and right now we`re not."
Though new to the finals, the Cavaliers are in a familiar place: down 0-2 in a playoff series. They lost the first two games to Detroit in the conference finals before winning four in a row over the Pistons.
The difference this time, however, is that the Spurs are superior to the Pistons and while the Cavs could have easily won both games in Detroit - they lost by three each time - they had little chance in San Antonio.
The comforts of home will help, but nothing`s guaranteed.
"We can not rely on because we`re going home, that our games are going to improve and our shots are going to fall," center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. "Yeah, we`re going to have our crowd and the energy and stuff. But we have to make some adjustments. They`re just playing harder than us - simple as that."
The Cavs have a been a different team at home, where the baskets seem wider, the rims softer and the crowds have been crazed. Cleveland went 30-11 at "The Q" during the regular season and are 7-1 in the playoffs. Still, the Spurs are good enough to overcome any team and 20,000 towel-waving enemies.
Three teams have overcome an 0-2 deficit in the finals to win the title, including Miami last season. The Heat looked as bad as Cleveland did in Games 1 and 2 at Dallas before winning four straight, jumping on the shoulders of their star, James` good buddy, Dwyane Wade.
As James showed against the Pistons, he`s capable of a similar one-man spectacle.
The Cavaliers barely have a pulse now, and it`s up to James to get them beating again.
"I`ve been in this situation before," he said while walking to the team bus late Sunday night.
"It`s going to be tough, but we can still do it."
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