James, Love help Cavs get up 2-0 on Raptors

TORONTO — LeBron James had 43 points and 14 assists, Kevin Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers beat the Raptors 128-110 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal 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 fourgame winning streak in Game 2s. The Raptors entered 6-1 all time when playing Game 2 at home.

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

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry had 21 and eight assists for the Raptors, who won a team-record 59 games and finished as the East’s topseeded team but are now halfway to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of James and the Cavaliers.

Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Fred VanVleet scored 14 points, but the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time all season. Their 34-7 record at home during the regular season tied the Rockets for the league’s top mark.

The series shifts to Ohio for Game 3 on Saturday night. The Raptors have gone 0-5 in Cleveland over the past two postseasons, losing by an average margin of 24.2 points per game.

The Cavaliers are 21-3 at home against Eastern opponents in the playoffs over the last four years.

The Raptors, who let a 10-point lead slip away in a 113-112 overtime loss in Game 1, were up 54-45 midway through the second quarter but saw their lead dwindle to 63-61 by halftime.

The Cavaliers took control as Smith scored six points in an 18-5 spurt to begin the third quarter. They outscored the Raptors 37-24 in the period to take an 11-point edge into the fourth and were not threatened after that. Jayson Tatum scored 21 points, Terry Rozier had 20 and the Celtics went up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals by defeating the 76ers in Boston.

Marcus Smart added 19 points and Al Horford posted a double- double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Six Celtics scored in double figures, including Jaylen Brown, who totaled 13 after sitting out Game 1 while dealing with a strained right hamstring.

JJ Redick led the 76ers with 23 points. Robert Covington scored 22 and Joel Embiid had 20 points and 14 rebounds.