Cavs sweep Pacers as LeBron earns record
James passes Magic with 21st consecutive 1st-round win Rockets go up 3-1 on OKC Celtics, Jazz even series
J.R. Smith had no idea that he was a member of the last team that beat LeBron James in a first-round playoff game.
“I try not to remember too much of my New York days,” Smith said of his troubled tenure with the Knicks.
James insisted he didn’t remember his last first-round loss, either. It came on May 6, 2012, with the Miami Heat. As Carmelo Anthony poured in 41 points and Amar’e Stoudemire added 20 points and 10 rebounds, the Knicks pulled out a twopoint victory in Game 4 despite James’ 27 points, four rebounds and four assists.
But as James thought back on Sunday night, a few details surfaced from the recesses of his mind.
“J.R. had a nice move that game by the way. Windmill dunk on the baseline,” James said. “We won that in five, right?”
Of course, he was right. That season the Heat went on to capture the first of two NBA titles with James, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.
That seemingly meaningless Knicks game in May 2012, became significant again Sunday as the best player in the world added to his otherworldly list of accomplishments.
With the Cavaliers’ 106-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse that secured a sweep, James set the league record with his 21st consecutive first-round playoff triumph. The record dates back to 1984, when the league went to its current postseason format. James broke a tie with three Los Angeles Lakers from the mid-1980s – Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Michael Cooper.
The record isn’t merely a statement about James’ unrivaled skills and versatility. It reflects his ability to play through pain. His determination not to mentally take the night off against a lower-seeded opponent. His leadership to inspire the players around him. The general managers who constructed the rosters and the coaches who played a part – the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and the Cavs’ David Blatt and Tyronn Lue.
Asked the logic behind James’ record, Lue joked, “Great coaching.”
The Cavs’ four victories by a total of 16 points against the Pacers tied the 1975 Golden State Warriors (vs the Washington Bullets) for the smallest margin of victory in a four-game series.
James – who finished Sunday’s game with 33 points, 10 rebounds and four assists – doesn’t care about records, all he cares about is winning. But he’d obviously given some thought to this one and discussed what the 21st consecutive firstround victory signified to him.
“Competition is very hard. Mentally challenge yourself every year to go out and try to do what’s right, put your body on the line, put your team on the line to try to be successful is very hard,” he said. “I go out every night to try and win a ballgame. Do whatever it takes to help my teammates be successful and do whatever it takes to help me be successful. That’s been the result of it.
“I’m truly blessed and honored to be in a position where I hold a record in this league that’s had so many great players and so many great teams throughout the years in the postseason. I just want to continue to play the game the right way. If I do that, I give myself, my teammates and different guys and all the kids looking up to me for inspiration, it gives them hope. and that’s all that matters to me.”
(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)
Rockets 113, Thunder 109
Nene scored 28 points and Eric Gordon and Lou Williams added 18 each as Houston took a 3-1 lead in its Western Conference first-round series with Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime and finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to claim three consecutive playoff triple-doubles.
James Harden finished with 16 points on 5-for-16 shooting for the Rockets, while Steven Adams scored 18 points and Victor Oladipo added 15 for Oklahoma City in a losing cause.
Celtics 104, Bulls 95
Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points as Boston tied the Eastern Conference firstround series 2-2.
Neither team has won a home game in the series.
Gerald Green scored a playoff-career-high 18 points, and Al Horford finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who blew a 20-point lead only to rebound after the Bulls took a two-point lead in the third quarter.
Jimmy Butler carried the Bulls with 33 points and nine assists. Nikola Mirotic and seldom-used Isaiah Canaan each scored 13 points, but Dwyane Wade finished with just 11 on 5-of-12 shooting.
Jazz 105, Clippers 98
Joe Johnson scored 28 points and Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back from injury to help Utah tie the series 2-2 with Los Angeles.
Rodney Hood chipped in 18 points and Derrick Favors added 17 off the bench to help the Jazz win a playoff game at home for the first time in seven years.
Chris Paul had 27 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which played without Blake Griffin after he suffered a toe injury in Game 3. Griffin has been ruled out for the rest of the postseason.
“We let that one slip away,” Paul said. “And that’s on me. We came here to get back home court. Had an opportunity to get two, but it is what it is.”