Cavs’ J.R. Smith struggles in Game 2 after Game 1 blunder

JR Smith #5 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dribbles in the closing seconds of regulation as LeBron James #23 attempts direct the offense against the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on May 31, 2018 in Oakland, California.

Of course, this came after James had 51 points in the gut-punch Game 1 loss when George Hill missed a potential game-winning free throw and Smith forgot what the score was.

Lue, similarly, did not care to elaborate on his complaint that earned him a rare technical foul after James turned the ball over following a long outlet pass with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter when both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson appeared to make contact with his body.

“We have to start the game better, being more physical”, Lue said.

Former Celtics star Ray Allen set the previous record when he made eight 3-pointers against the Lakers in Game 2 of the 2010 Finals between Boston and Los Angeles.

As the heavy underdogs, the Cleveland Cavaliers knew they had to win at least one game on the road to have any chance of upsetting the defending champions.

Are we in for a repeat of 2017, when the Cavaliers came home down 0-2 to the Warriors, got 39 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists from LeBron James, and still lost to go down in an insurmountable 0-3 hole?

In the past two seasons the Warriors have taken shots in the final seconds with leads of 30, 36, 44 and 45 points.

Curry dazzled in outdueling LeBron James as the two superstars traded big shots and celebratory moves.

It was unclear, however, whether Iguodala can join Golden State’s active roster in time for Game 3 at Cleveland on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).

The Lakers would eventually get their revenge from the 2008 NBA Finals and win in Game 7.

“It’s going to be a tough task”, Green said of playing in Cleveland.

Golden State made 57.3 percent of its shots in the game.

James attempted only three shots in the fourth quarter, as the game snowballed out of control early, and he was able to sit for the final four minutes.

In the last nine games against the Warriors (four this year and the five in last year’s Finals), Korver has scored 32 total points on 10-of-29 (34.4 percent) from the field and 8-of-25 (32 percent) from beyond the arc.

Although three other Cavs scored in double digits Sunday, James still needs to thrive on his home court in order to give his team some life in the series. If McGee and Livingston are going to outplay every Cavalier not named James and Love, we may as well skip to the draft night.

Cleveland went 20-26 from the stripe, while Golden State was just 13-21.