Triple-double by James leads Cavs to OT win

TORONTO — LeBron James had 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, J.R. Smith scored 20 points and the Cavaliers beat the Raptors 113-112 in overtime on Tuesday night to win Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kyle Korver added 19 points, including the goahead 3-pointer, in overtime after the Cavaliers never led in regulation. Jeff Green scored 16 points, Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Kevin Love grabbed 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which has eliminated the Raptors in each of the last two postseasons.

Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds to go in overtime that could have won it for the Raptors, who couldn’t hold on to a 14-point, first-quarter lead.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 21 rebounds and Kyle Lowry totaled 18 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who host Game 2 on Thursday night.

Lowry’s three-point play made it 113-112 with 57 seconds to go and, after the Cavaliers were called for a shot-clock violation, the Raptors had one more chance to win. But VanVleet couldn’t come through.

VanVleet was one of four Raptors to miss in the final seconds of regulation. To- ronto got four looks at the potential winning basket on its next possession but missed all four, including a wide-open 3 by VanVleet, giving the Cavaliers the ball with 0.6 seconds remaining. Green inbounded to James, but his shot bounced off the rim.

The Raptors shot 5for-24 in the fourth quarter, with Valanciunas missing six of seven attempts.

The Cavaliers beat the Raptors in six games in the Eastern Conference finals in 2016 before going on to win their first NBA championship. Last year, the Cavaliers swept the Raptors in the second round.

DeRozan scored 11 points in the firs quartert, connecting on the Raptors led 33-19. James was 3 of 5 in the period, but the rest of the Cavaliers shot 4-for-18.

James, who averaged more than 41 minutes in the first-round series against the Pacers, checked out with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter. With James on the bench, the Cavs scored two points the rest of the way.

Green and Smith each scored 11 points in the second quarter and the Cavaliers found their shooting stroke, connecting on 14 of 22 attempts.

James had five assists in the period as the Cavaliers cut the deficit to 60-57 at halftime.