Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors tips off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the live stream - or listen to the radio broadcast - via below.
Cleveland fell to Golden State in a 108-100 loss Thursday night in Game 1, but the biggest storyline for the Cavaliers was the season-ending knee injury suffered by Kyrie Irving. The point guard left in the second half and didn't return; a diagnosis later revealed a fracture in his left kneecap that would require surgery.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," Cavaliers star LeBron James said, according to ESPN. "Obviously, we've been in this situation, but we always knew at some point he'll come back. Now that he's out for the rest of the Finals and out for a period of a long time, first of all, it sucks for him personally. It's a huge blow for our team, especially at this stage.
"You want to try to be as close to full strength as possible throughout these games, especially when you're going against a worthy opponent like we're facing. So it's a tough situation for our team, and guys have to pick up in his absence."
Cavaliers coach David Blatt insisted he believed contact - not Irving's lingering tendinitis - was the culprit behind Irving's injury. Team general manager David Griffin later said the medical staff had administered several tests to Irving's knee in the days prior to Game 1 and that Irving's tendinitis appeared to have improved.
Despite Cleveland now without stars Kevin Love and Irving, the Warriors aren't expecting an easy run to the trophy.
"They're still a great ballclub," Warriors forward Draymond Green. "You know, they have a lineup that's pretty good even without Kyrie. So they'll still come out and play. We'll see a lot more (Matthew) Dellavedova and probably Mike (Miller) and some other guys. But they're going to come out and compete the same way they always compete, and we have to make sure we come out with an even better focus level than we did in Game 1."
Warriors star Stephen Curry seemed to agree, pointing to how well Cleveland played against the Atlanta Hawks in the conference finals in the two games Irving missed because of the tendinitis.
"We have to stay disciplined on the other guys around him knowing that they're talented, knowing that they can make plays, make shots, and we have to be as focused on them as we are on LeBron," Curry said. "But they play a different way without Kyrie. We've seen some footage of that in the last series that they played against Atlanta. So we've just got to be ready and stay locked in and focused on guarding everybody on the floor and stick to our game plan."
James scored 44 points in Game 1 and will be asked to do even more Sunday night. Irving scored 23 points before leaving the game, and the Cavs' third-highest scorer was Timofey Mozgov with 16. Cleveland will look for more consistent production from veteran J.R. Smith, who went 3-of-13 from the field for nine points in Game 1. The Cavaliers will also look for production from guards Iman Shumpert, Dellavedova and Miller to help lighten the burden for James.
On the other side, Curry led with 26 points and eight assists, and guard Klay Thompson added 21 points. The Warriors will need to find a way to do a better job of limiting James, but that may be an easier task without Irving on the floor.
Watch the live stream HERE, or listen to the radio broadcast HERE (CLE) and HERE (GS).
