James grabs a coldie as Cavs ride on
LEBRON James swooped on a beer during the third quarter before powering Cleveland to a comprehensive 116- 105 win over Toronto in their NBA semi- finals series opener on Monday.
James scored 35 points as the Cavaliers picked up where they left off following a long layoff to draw first blood in game one of their Eastern Conference battle with the Raptors.
Kyrie Irving added 24 points for the Cavs, who hadn’t played since April 23, when they completed a four- game sweep of Indiana.
But the defending champions didn’t show signs of rust and were well prepared to face the revenge- seeking Raptors, who lost to Cleveland in year’s conference finals.
Toronto dropped to 1- 12 in playoff openers.
James was again the centre of attention, especially with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter and Cleveland doing it easily ahead last 88- 71. After drawing a foul on a missed lay- up, James playfully hopped toward the sideline, where a courtside waitress was passing by.
The three- time NBA champion grabbed a beer bottle from her tray and brought it toward his lips before putting it back. By then, he and the Cavs had already broken the Raptors.
“As a team I think we had great energy, and even some of the mistakes that we had we were able to cover up for because our energy level was high,” James said.
In San Antonio, the Houston Rockets stormed past San Antonio 126- 99 in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semi- finals.