LeBron James Curry Durant
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers attempts to run past Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 2 of the 2017 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 4, 2017 in Oakland, California. Getty Images

As the Cleveland Cavaliers look to avoid falling into a 3-0 series hole against the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, they have plenty of time to prepare. The team has 72 hours of rest before they have to take the court again, returning home and hoping to turn their luck around.

Game 3 is set to start at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. ABC has the TV coverage, and viewers can watch a free live stream online with WatchESPN.

READ: NBA Finals Game 3 Prediction, Betting Odds

Cleveland has been thoroughly outplayed for the first two games of the series, losing at Oracle Arena by a combined 41 points. The start of the series has been reminiscent of the 2016 NBA Finals when the Cavs lost Game 1 and Game 2 by 15 points and 33 points, respectively.

“Well, they play well at home,” Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after Game 2. “They won their first two games like they're supposed to. Coming to a tough environment, we knew it was going to be tough, but they won the first two games. We get a chance to go home now to our home crowd where we play well also. So they won two games; now we got to go home and regroup.”

With a 2-0 series deficit last year, the Cavs returned home and easily won Game 3. They dropped Game 4 and won the final three games of the series. Doing the same in 2017 will likely prove to be more difficult, now that the Warriors have Kevin Durant.

Making his first NBA Finals appearance since 2012, Durant has been nothing short of spectacular. Even with LeBron James averaging a triple-double through the first two games, Durant has been just as good, if not better. He’s averaging 35.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game on 56.3 percent shooting.

“A lot of things you can't do defensively by having K.D. on the floor,” Lue said. “So they make it tough and they put you in some tough situations. But we got to be better as far as not relaxing, not falling asleep, the loose balls 50/50 balls, we got to get to those. And when you don't get to them, they make you pay. Every mistake you make defensively, they make you pay, and you saw that tonight.”

Durant’s defense has also been key. With five blocks and three steals in Game 2, Durant changed the game on both ends of the floor.

Perhaps things will change in front of Cleveland’s home crowd, where the Cavs have played much better this season. Even though the Cavs were the East’s No.2 seed, they led the conference with a 31-10 home record, only going 20-21 on the road.

The Warriors went 36-5 at home in the regular season, and they haven’t lost at home or on the road in the playoffs. Golden State’s last road loss came on March 11 in a game against the San Antonio Spurs.

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