James scores 43 as Cavs pound Raptors

Celtics rally from 22 down vs. 76ers

TORONTO — LeBron James had 43 points and 14 assists, and Kevin Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-110 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

J.R. Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and George Hill 13 as the Cavaliers posted their eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Raptors and halted Toronto’s four-game winning streak in Game 2s. The Raptors entered 6-1 all-time when playing Game 2 at home.

James had eight rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. He connected on 19 of 28 attempts, while Love shot 11 for 21.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24

points and Kyle Lowry had 21 for the Raptors. Toronto won a team-record 59 games and finished as the top-seeded team in the East this season, but was easily shoved one step closer to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of the Cavs.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors.

CELTICS 108, 76ERS 103: In Boston, Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds as Boston beat Philadelphia after rallying from a 22-point deficit.

The Celtics lead the series 2-0. Terry Rozier added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and five rebounds.

Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.

Note

KNICKS: David Fizdale is coming back to coaching as the latest pick of New York to turn around the franchise. The Knicks agreed to hire Fizdale on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the details said.

GRANK GUNN/ASSOCIATED PRESS Cleveland’s Kevin Love (0) prepares to slam home two points at Toronto on Thursday.

ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS Boston guard Jaylen Brown (7) pulls down a rebound over Philadelphia’s Amir Johnson (5) during the first quarter of their game Thursday night. The Celtics rallied from a 22-point deficit.