JAMES ON FIRE AS CAVALIERS CRUSH CELTICS

Los Angeles: The Boston crowd came out to celebrate Paul Pierce whose jersey No. 34 was retired by the club on Sunday — but LeBron James and his new Cleveland supporting cast had other ideas as the Cavaliers routed the Celtics 121- 99. James shook off a first quarter leg injury to finish with 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. James collided with Aron Baynes with about five minutes left in the first quarter and hobbled to the sidelines. After receiving treatment on his right leg he returned with nine minutes left in the half and immediately picked up where he left off. James scored 13 of his 24 points in the second quarter. He chipped in eight during a 13- 2 burst that turned a one- point deficit into a double- digit lead. The Celtics made it 64- 55 on the first basket of the third quarter but never even got close for the rest of the game. In Charlotte, DeMar DeRozan scored a team- high 25 points and CJ Miles came off the bench to score 24 points as the Raptors notched their fifth straight victory with a 123- 103 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Head coach Dwane Casey became the first coach in franchise history to record 300 wins.