Spurs try to take 2-0 lead over LeBron, Cavs

Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) will take place at Quicken Loans Arena. If the set goes to a sixth and seventh game, San Antonio would host those contests.

In the opener, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker dictated the offense and San Antonio’s defense put the clamps on LeBron James, holding the superstar Cavalier to 14 points, as the Spurs beat Cleveland, 85-76, on Thursday at the AT&T Center.

Parker finished with 27 points and seven assists, while Duncan totaled 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots for San Antonio in Game 1’s victory.

James was just 4-of-16 from the field. He missed his first eight shots from the floor and had six of his points in the final quarter, but the Cavs were behind by double digits most of the fourth.

Daniel Gibson had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting for the Cavaliers, who also got 14 points from Drew Gooden and 13 from Sasha Pavlovic.

The Spurs are 2-1 all-time in Game 2s of the NBA Finals. Game 3 of this series is scheduled for Tuesday in Cleveland.

San Antonio, which was seeded third in the Western Conference, has advanced to the NBA Finals for the fourth time in franchise history and is a perfect 3-0 in this round. The Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in five in 1999, the New Jersey Nets in six in 2003 and the Detroit Pistons in seven in 2005.

The Spurs, who lost in seven to the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s semifinals, knocked out No. 6 Denver in five games in the opening round, survived a tough six-game series with the second-seeded Suns and crushed No. 4 Utah, 4-1, in the conference finals. San Antonio is in the postseason for the 10th straight year.

Cleveland, which lost in seven to Detroit in last year’s East semis, has reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. James has stepped up to the next level and has carried the Cavaliers, who were the second seed in the Eastern Conference, throughout the playoffs. They swept No. 7 Washington, 4-0, in the quarterfinals, beat New Jersey in six in the semis and surprised the top-seeded Pistons in six in the conference finals.

The Spurs are 8-2 at home in this year’s playoffs, while Cleveland is 5-4 as the visitor.

During the regular season, Cleveland defeated the Spurs twice. The Cavaliers picked up an 88-81 victory on November 3, 2006 at the AT&T Center and edged San Antonio, 82-78, on January 2nd in front of their home crowd.