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NBA FINALS: CAVALIERS vs WARRIORS

June 3, 2018

LeBron James

Oakland, California: Game Two

Warriors - 122, Cavaliers - 103

Q. LeBron, you always talk about you've seen every defense that anybody can throw at you. Did it seem that Golden State came out tonight looking to try to attack you a little bit more earlier in the shot clock and maybe tried to limit you as much to not drive as much? You ended up with 13 assists, but it seemed like they really made you work hard tonight for everything you got.
LEBRON JAMES: I think I only got tired once tonight. So, I mean, they doubled me a few times when I caught the ball in the post, something they didn't do in Game 1. So I got off the ball, trusted my teammates. But as far as working harder, I think I got tired once.

Q. Steph set an NBA Finals record tonight with nine three-point shots, but some of them were much more difficult than others. He had the 23 1/2 seconds of great defense, and goes out 25 feet, turns around and hits one. How deflating is it when he's got it going and makes shots that almost he has no business making or taking?
LEBRON JAMES: Every shot that he takes that goes in, he has the business of making them. That's what he does. So shouldn't be surprised or deflated at it. Take the ball out, move it forward, and try to execute on the other end.

Q. Obviously Steph, Klay, K.D. had great games, as expected. But how dangerous are the Warriors when you have McGee and also Livingston perfect from the field? I think it was 11 field goals total, 11 for 11.
LEBRON JAMES: I mean, they're a dangerous ballclub no matter what. It starts with those four guys, obviously, the four All-Stars. Everyone else just does their job, and they don't miss a beat when they put someone in or they take someone out. You know, it's not something that's surprising.

Q. If you had to point to one or two things that you could take with you as a group going back to Cleveland for Game 3 that makes you feel good about where you could be in this series, what would it be?
LEBRON JAMES: Well, I think at the end of the day we have a Game 3 to play. You know, we've got an opportunity to go home, and we played some really good basketball on our home floor. But that shouldn't give us any comfort. We should still be uncomfortable with the series as we were in Game 1 and as we were tonight.

Q. When you're facing -- a lot of people feel like the odds are against you in this series. Do you feel like there is too much pressure put on you to be able to try to do too much for your team? Is it fair?
LEBRON JAMES: No, I don't really get caught up in that. I mean, the odds have been against me since -- I don't know, since I was five, six years old. So we're talking about basketball here. It seems like I come up here and tell you guys this all the time. The odds have been stacked up against me since I was an adolescent.

So I put our team in position to try to win a championship, to compete for a championship. You know, it's my job to make sure that we're as focused, laser focused as possible, do my job, and continue to instill confidence into my teammates until the last horn sounds.

That's my job. That's my responsibility. That's my obligation, and I need to continue to do that, which I will.

Q. You're one of those guys who has said a lot of times -- like you, Dwyane, a lot of guys over the years have said that a series doesn't truly start until one team wins on the other's home floor. How much are you going to remind your guys that over the next three days? Just, I mean, as hard as it might be to sell them on, to remind them that Golden State just held serve?
LEBRON JAMES: They did that. But like I said, we want to continue to be uncomfortable. Just because we're going home doesn't mean we can relax. This is the last team in the world you want to relax against. They've proven they can win on someone else's floor, no matter if it's through adversity as people may call it like when they were going through the Rockets series or whatever the case may be. They've proven they can win on someone else's floor and do it in any fashion, in any way.

I will continue to stay uncomfortable, and I hope our guys continue to stay uncomfortable no matter with us going back home.

Q. You've been in this situation three years in a row now 0-2. Can you draw back on some of those experiences in terms of your strategy going forward?
LEBRON JAMES: No.

Q. You've always been a guy that played the game with a lot of love, with a lot of joy for the game. In the moment that you're in right now, with the challenge being as great as it is and the burden on you as great as it is, does it make it harder to find those moments of enjoyment and kind of enjoying the competition as opposed to just continuing to just push and grind through?
LEBRON JAMES: Absolutely not. I mean, it sucks to lose. It sucks when you go out there and you give it everything that you have and you prep and your mind is in it and your body is in it and you come out on the losing end. But nothing would ever take the love of the game away from me. I think the love of the competition is something I live for and something I wake up every day and train my body for and train my mind for.

Yeah, I mean, it sucks to lose, that's for sure, but it definitely won't stop me from preparing to be better the next day.

Q. You spoke with us yesterday about getting the treatment for your eye. Still looking a little bloody there. How was it tonight, and going forward do you think it's something that you just have to learn to work around?
LEBRON JAMES: Yeah, I mean, I'm going to have to work around it until it's not bloody anymore. I mean, it's not going to keep me out of a game. I'll be active -- what's today? What is today? Sunday? When do we play again? Wednesday? So I'll be active. I'll be in uniform, and I'll continue to try to make plays and help our team be successful and try to get one up on the board.

The eye has looked a lot better. My daughter don't like the way I look right now (laughing). Yeah, she didn't like the FaceTime that we had earlier. She was a little weirded out about it. But I'll be fine. So everything's good. Appreciate it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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