The Hawks squandered their home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals and lost twice to the Cavaliers in Atlanta. Now they head to Cleveland with the odds stacked against them, down 2-0 to the Cavaliers. Though the Cavs are depleted with injuries, they still have LeBron James.
Hawks vs. Cavaliers, NBA playoffs 2015: Time, TV schedule and live stream for Game 3
Cleveland is up 2-0 thanks to the brilliance of LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ role players stepping up at the right time.
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Atlanta has its own injuries. DeMarre Carroll suffered a knee injury in Game 1 and Al Horford came up hobbled in Game 2. Kyle Korver, who had to leave early with an ankle sprain in Game 3, is now out for the remainder of the playoffs. The Hawks as a whole look worn out and exhausted and their bench depth seems to be making an impact on them finally. With an entire series to prepare, Cleveland is honing in on the right parts of the Hawks' offense and completely shutting them down.
Korver has been at the heart of Atlanta’s inefficiencies. He was only shooting 39 percent from the floor and 36 percent on three-pointers in the playoffs after posting 49 percent for both during the regular season. Despite his struggles, his absence is a huge hit for the Hawks -- when he was on the court in the playoffs, the Hawks’ outscored opponents by 60 points; when he was off the court, they were outscored by 30. His dead-eye marksmanship was one of the Hawks’ biggest offensive weapons and with that taken away, Atlanta just can’t score enough points to keep up with the Cavaliers.
If the Hawks can get the ball moving fluidly and hit their open shots on Sunday, perhaps they can take a game in Cleveland and head back to Atlanta for Game 5.
Here’s how you can watch.
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: TNT
Online: Watch TNT
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