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NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: RAPTORS v CAVALIERS

May 17, 2016

Tyronn Lue

Cleveland, Ohio: Game One

Cleveland - 115, Toronto - 84

Q. To the extent that a 30-point game can turn, would you say that was the start of the second quarter, and what was the spark there?
TYRONN LUE: I thought our bench came in and was great. I thought our bench came in defensively, they were great. They were active and physical, and then we also got out in transition and made shots. It was great for us. We needed a lift. We had a rough start to start the game and our bench came in and did a phenomenal job.

Q. Ty, you guys were averaging 16 three-pointers in a game and tonight you only had seven. You guys did it without having to shoot the long ball. Was that part of the game plan going in? And how much of what happened tonight was a factor of you guys having nine days' rest and them coming off of a series with just one day?
TYRONN LUE: Well, I think we always want to play inside-out, and when Kyrie and LeBron and Kevin and those guys are attacking the basket, it opens up the three-point shot for us because guys are helping, but tonight we were able to get downhill and get to the basket and get a lot of layups and they didn't collapse as much as the previous teams have. We just take what the defense gives us. If they open up the paint, we are going to drive and attack the basket. If not, then we've got to be able to step up and knock down the threes.

Q. We talked the last few days about limiting their free-throw attempts and not allowing their backcourt to get to the line at all. Was it a game plan thing that you guys feel like you executed perfectly tonight?
TYRONN LUE: Yeah, great game plan. I thought DeRozan came out and had a great first quarter. He made some shots, some in-between twos. We wanted to get a late contest on that, we were going to live with those shots. But we did a great job of keeping him and Kyle off the free-throw line like we talked about, and the guys followed the game plan perfectly.

Q. Ty, when LeBron and Kyrie are both being aggressive like that offensively, how do they help one another set each other up for more opportunities?
TYRONN LUE: I don't know. I really don't have the answer. I'm always on Kyrie about staying aggressive, being aggressive because guys can't guard him one-on-one. So especially in transition, if we can get out fast and get out early to him, he can attack early to the basket and LeBron the same way.

They feed off each other. One guy gets tired, the other guys steps up, and it's great to have a guy on your team where you can look to the other guy or look to Kevin and just kind of get your breath, catch your wind and slow the game down. So it was perfect for us tonight.

Q. After that 7-0 start by them, defensively the intensity seemed to pick up. Did you say something, or was it just the rust that the guys had to shake off?
TYRONN LUE: No, we just talked about it in the timeout, just being more aggressive, being more physical 1 through 5. We know they have a physical team. DeRozan loves to post up. Kyle is physical at the point guard position. DeMarre Carroll is physical. Biyombo is physical. We just know we had to pick our physicality up, and I think once we did that, once the second unit came in, we got a chance to pick our defense and our physicality up.

Q. Ty, obviously you have to go through the Eastern Conference to get to the NBA Finals, but when you got the job, how much of your strategic sort of mission was predicated on the stylistic changes that have happened mostly in the Western Conference in the game, spreading the floor, playing fast, shooting threes?
TYRONN LUE: We've always played that way. Last year we played the same way. This year we're just trusting the pass more, more ball movement, more pace, and I mean, it's nothing too different. Now we're just kind of -- we understand who we are as a team. I think defensively and offensively we understand who we are, who we want to play through, who we want to go through, and it's been easier for the guys.

Q. When Kyrie gets going downhill and gets to the rim, why is it that he's so impossible to stop, and as you say, you can't guard him one-on-one?
TYRONN LUE: Well, with his dribbling ability, I mean, it's hard to stay in front of him. When he's making his mid-range shot, it's very tough to guard him. He's a tough guard one-on-one. We know that. You've seen it over the years, and just like I said before, I just want him to stay aggressive, be aggressive attacking the basket, attacking his man one-on-one, and that's what he did tonight and throughout -- he's been doing it through the whole playoffs.

Q. 45-23 the Cavs had a rebounding advantage. Is that sustainable? And what's the key to that kind of dominance? And do you see that kind of a matchup playing out throughout the rest of the series?
TYRONN LUE: We've always been a great rebounding team. I think with Tristan and Kevin, LeBron's rebounding ability, Richard Jefferson had 10 rebounds tonight. Iman Shumpert is a great rebounder. We have always been a good rebounding team, and if we can get stops and get rebounds, we can get out and run in transition.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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