Irving, Cavs face crucial Game 3

Published 9:02 am Wednesday, June 8, 2016

One day before his first NBA Finals game at home, Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving spent time after practice trying out some one-on-one moves against assistant coach James Posey.

That’s not what Cleveland needed him to work on.

With the Cavs already in a 2-0 hole they can’t allow to get deeper, Irving must play like an All-Star, if not a superstar, for Cleveland to win Game 3 on Wednesday night over the Golden State Warriors, attempting to cap an historic season with a second straight title.

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Irving has waited a year, actually a lifetime, for this moment. After breaking his kneecap in Game 1 of last year’s finals and enduring months of grueling rehab, the 24-year-old, often criticized for being too selfish on the court, has a chance at personal redemption and to help the Cavs, who could be missing concussed forward Kevin Love in Game 3.

The pressure’s on.

Irving, though, isn’t feeling any.

“Just be myself,” he said when asked how he needs to improve in Game 3. “Go out there and be aggressive.”

Irving was in attack mode in the opener, scoring 26 points and making 11 free throws as he was able to get to the rim almost at will. It wasn’t nearly as easy in Game 2 — for Irving or the Cavs — as he was held to 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting and the Warriors rolled to a 110-77 win.

But in addition to clanking shots, Irving also fell back into a bad habit of hanging onto the ball too long, dribbling and failing to get his teammates involved. He had just one assist in 33 minutes.