Cavaliers tie up series

CLEVELAND LeBron James knows the path to the NBA Finals better than anyone in today’s game.

And unless the Boston Celtics do something soon, he’ll get there again.

James bullied his way to 44 points and helped the Cleveland Cavaliers even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 on Monday night with a 111-102 victory over the Celtics, who are looking forward to getting home before their adoring fans.

Pushed by a raucous crowd that wasn’t so confident a few days ago, the Cavs held off Boston’s comeback in the fourth quarter and squared a tight series that is now a best-of-three.

Kyle Korver added 14 points and Cleveland’s sharpshooting 37-year-old added several hustle plays. Tristan Thompson had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs. Jaylen Brown scored 25 and Boston had all five scorers in double figures, but the Celtics fell behind by 19 in the first half and didn’t have enough to catch Cleveland.

Warriors rout Rockets by 41

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry got his groove back to score 35 points with five 3-pointers, shooting over James Harden and driving past the Houston star as the Golden State Warriors made a second-half statement to beat the Rockets 126-85 on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Kevin Durant added 25 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Draymond Green grabbed 17 rebounds to go with 10 points and six assists. The Warriors won an NBA-record 16th consecutive home post-season game, surpassing the Chicago Bulls’ mark of 15 in a row from April 27, 1990-May 21, 1991.

Harden had 20 points and nine assists. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Oracle Arena.