LeBron, Cavs roll over Raptors in opener
Cleveland's Big 3 dominate Toronto Rockets deal Spurs resounding 27-point game 1 defeat
LeBron James took a moment to lighten the mood in the third quarter Monday night as the Cavaliers hit the Toronto Raptors with yet another run.
King James drove to the basket and attempted a layup as Serge Ibaka fouled him. The ball bounced off the rim and out, and James playfully proceeded to grab a beer from a waitress as she walked courtside and tended to spectators.
James’ sense of humor made the home fans laugh, and his play throughout the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals made them cheer as the Cavs recorded a 116-105 victory before a sellout crowd of 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena.
James made both free throws with 2:24 to go in the third as fans chanted “M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P,” and finished his night with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. James made 13-of-23 field goals (including 2-of-5 from three-point range) and 7-of-8 free throws.
Kyrie Irving contributed 24 points and 10 assists, and Kevin Love had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cavs, who will host the Raptors for Game 2 on Wednesday.
Tristan Thompson totaled 11 points and 14 rebounds, and J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver each scored six points.
Kyle Lowry paced the Raptors with 20 points and 11 assists. DeMar DeRozan (19 points), Ibaka (15 points), P.J. Tucker (13 points) and Norman Powell (12 points) also reached double figures.
A week off from game action didn’t bother the Cavs on Monday as they jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the opening three minutes. Love swished a three, James dropped in a layup, Irving netted a three and James finished the spurt with 9:12 on the clock with a powerful left-handed slam dunk after Irving bounced the ball off the backboard.
“I thought our guys came out with a mindset of pushing the ball [on offense], and we had a great defensive mindset, too,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
The Raptors cut their deficit to 12-11 moments later with scoring from all of their starting five, but the Cavs responded with a 10-0 run to lead 22-11 at 5:12. James and Irving started the surge with layups, Love made a jumper and free throw and Smith nailed a three-pointer.
Iman Shumpert contributed an emphatic right-handed slam dunk at 1:43, and Irving made two free throws to give the Cavs a 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cavs’ advantage reached 38-20 early in the second quarter on three-point play by James, a jumper by Deron Williams and a trey by Korver, but the Raptors responded with a 19-3 run to trail 41-39 with 6:41 left in the first half. Lowry scored eight points, and Ibaka added seven during the run.
The Cavs answered with three-pointers by Smith and Love and another Love bucket to extend their lead to 49-39 at 5:28. They then closed the half with seven points in a row on a three by Korver, two free throws by Irving and a layup by James to take a 62-48 advantage into intermission.
“We just stayed the course – the confidence never wavered,” Lue said. “When we play with pace and get up and down the floor we are pretty tough to beat.”
James had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists at halftime, and then took over in the third quarter as the Cavs maintained a comfortable lead. James scored 12 points in the quarter, including a three that made it 85-66 with 4:47 on the clock.
The Cavs ended the third quarter on a 9-3 run with James and Thompson each making two free throws, Shumpert making a three and Thompson dropping in a layup.
The fourth quarter featured more of James, and scoring from starters and reserves from both sides as the Raptors could never get to within single digits. James drove the baseline for a right-handed dunk in the quarter and then exited to a standing ovation from the crowd.
(Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)
Rockets 126, Spurs 99
Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, and James Harden added 20 points and 14 assists as Houston jumped on San Antonio in the opening minutes and rolled to a comfortable victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series.
The Rockets led by 11 after the first quarter, by 30 at halftime and by 29 at the end of the third quarter, after which Harden and Ariza were removed from the game.
Houston reserve center Nene was ejected at the end of the third quarter after a verbal altercation with San Antonio’s Dewayne Dedmon. Dedmon was later ejected as well.
Houston’s 22 made three-pointers were a playoff high for a San Antonio opponent. The Rockets’ starters outscored the Spurs’ first-line players 77-44 in the first three quarters.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He also sat out the fourth quarter with no hope that San Antonio could mount a comeback.