NBA Playoff Schedule 2016: TV, Livestream Info for Sunday's Round 2 Games
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to make it a clean sweep of the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday in their second-round matchup of the 2016 NBA playoffs.
The Cavs' ridiculously hot three-point shooting has rendered the Hawks mostly helpless in this series, and they are on the brink at home in Game 4.
Also on the Sunday docket is Game 4 of the Western Conference series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs steamrolled the Thunder to the tune of a 124-92 victory in Game 1, but the series has been close, controversial and wildly entertaining ever since, with the two teams splitting the next two games.
Here's the viewing info for Sunday's games. Livestreams can be found at WatchESPN and TNT Overtime.
| 3:30 p.m. | Cleveland Cavaliers | Atlanta Hawks | ABC | WatchESPN | CLE 3-0 ATL |
| 8 p.m. | San Antonio Spurs | Oklahoma City Thunder | TNT | TNT Overtime | SAS 2-1 OKC |
The Thunder displayed plenty of grit and determination in coming back from that lopsided loss in Game 1 to win Game 2 on the road. Indeed, there was no officiating to be found on that wacky final possession, but 57 points combined from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook was another example of their routine heroism.
This slight underdog could actually be ahead in this series instead of in danger of dropping another game at home, but yet another fourth-quarter collapse allowed the Spurs to earn a 100-96 win in Game 3.
Westbrook's voluminous shooting turned out to be more hindrance than help on Friday. He needed 31 shots to get his team-high 31 points. The Spurs' Kawhi Leonard matched his offensive output, but Leonard did it on just 17 shots.
LaMarcus Aldridge was also difficult to contain, per ESPN.com's Royce Young:
The Thunder still had a great chance to win the game, but as NBA.com's Fran Blinebury pointed out, the final few minutes of the game were all too familiar for Oklahoma City:
"The last 3:25 of the game was the season in a nutshell for OKC. A peanut shell, easy to crack. A season where they had already blown 15 fourth quarters and looked as fragile as fine china. In fact, that's what the Thunder most resemble with the high-strung Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant — something a little too delicate to survive the hard-edged jostling that's required to win a championship.
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The big moments often seem a bit overwhelming for this squad, which is a frustrating character trait that stands in direct contrast to the Spurs' cool, steely resolve.
The best the Thunder can do is focus on what they can control. Westbrook appears ready to dial back the shooting in order to help his teammates.
"Too many shots,'' Westbrook said, per Chris Altruda of STATS for Fox Sports. ''I've got to do a better job getting guys shots. I've got to get other guys involved, especially to beat this team. Even though I had some shots I (usually) make, I've got to read and find ways to get guys shots. I take the blame.''
A little more offensive cohesion might do this team well against San Antonio, which didn't get much offense outside of Aldridge or Leonard on Friday.
The Thunder have plenty of athleticism and should take advantage of the spacing and matchup difficulties they can create in a series in which Serge Ibaka is 10-of-17 from beyond the arc.
For goodness' sake, Ibaka is shooting three-pointers like he's wearing the wine and gold of Cleveland.
In three games against the Hawks, the Cavaliers are an absurd 61-of-115 (53.04 percent) from downtown. They set an NBA record with 25 threes in Game 2; Atlanta totaled 30 field goals in that game. The Cavs have won each game in this series by at least 11 points.
Sure, this team could cool off dramatically in Game 4, but that could mean it shoots merely a mortal 40 percent. The over-reliance on the long ball could also hurt the Cavs in later rounds, but for now, it's OK to keep chucking with a three-game cushion over Atlanta.
ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin noted the Hawks have tried plenty of strategies to keep up, and they could get desperate on Sunday:
"While Game 3 saw the Hawks resort to an array of tactical adjustments -- namely starting Thabo Sefolosha instead of Kyle Korver in order to get Korver off the Cavs’ defense’s radar from the tip, and also bringing Kris Humphries in for extended minutes off the bench -- there are two much more radical directions Cleveland knows that Atlanta could choose in Game 4, since whatever the Hawks tried wasn’t enough on Friday.
One strategy sure to be explored is Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer calling for the hack-a-whomever strategy on Cavs forward Tristan Thompson.
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Slowing the Cavaliers down in any way possible is all well and good at this point, and it could at least run interference for teams in later rounds. As the front-runners in the East, the Cavaliers would be all too happy to bank easy rounds in their quest for the NBA championship.
LeBron James and company are going to need every advantage they can muster if they are to take down the eventual Western Conference representative in the NBA Finals. A well-rested team shooting the three-pointer at historic levels might be enough to do the trick.
