James leads Cleveland romp
Jazz gets even with OKC; Rockets roll
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 46 points and added 12 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a poor performance in the opener by holding off the Indiana Pacers 100-97 on Wednesday night to even their Eastern Conference series at one game apiece.
Dazzling from the start, James scored the game’s first 16 points and had 29 at halftime, dominating the way he has in so many previous postseasons.
But in a season in which nothing has been easy for the Cavs, Cleveland was lucky that Indiana’s Victor Oladipo missed a wide-open 3-pointer that would have tied it with 27 seconds left.
Kevin Love scored 15, but Cleveland’s All-Star center injured his left hand, the same one he broke earlier this season, with 3:43 left. Love’s status could affect the remainder of this series — and perhaps Cleveland’s season. But X-rays were negative.
Indiana rallied from an 18-point deficit and was within 95-92 when Oladipo missed maybe his easiest shot in two games. James grabbed the rebound and made three free throws over the final 22 seconds.
JAZZ 102, THUNDER 95: In Oklahoma City, rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help Utah defeat Oklahoma City and tie their Western Conference playoff series at one win game apiece.
Derrick Favors had career playoff bests of 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz, and Ricky Rubio had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the first playoff win of his sevenyear career.
Russell Westbrook had 19 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the Thunder. ROCKETS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 82: In Houston, Chris Paul had 27 points and Gerald Green came off the bench to score 21 as Houston used a huge second quarter to cruise to a win over Minnesota that gave it 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Houston fell behind early, but went on top for good with a 37-point second quarter, powered by four 3-pointers from Green.