NBA playoffs:
Cavaliers finish sweep of Raptors.
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed back to a familiar place after sweeping aside another outclassed opponent.
James scored 35 points and Kyrie Irving 27 as Cleveland swept Toronto, beating the host Raptors, 109-102, Sunday to give James his seventh consecutive trip to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
“It’s rewarding when you can advance,” James said. “It’s not just given to you, you have to go out and earn it. Once again I’m part of a team that’s been able to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s going to be my ninth time in 14 years. I’ll take those numbers.”
Kyle Korver scored 18 points to help the Cavaliers become the first team to win eight straight playoff games the year following a title and the first team to win eight straight in consecutive postseasons.
Channing Frye scored 10 points, and Irving had 9 assists for Cleveland. The Cavs were 16 for 41 from three-point range.
Serge Ibaka scored 23 points and DeMar DeRozan had 22 for Toronto. The Raptors took their first fourth-quarter lead of the series but couldn’t avoid their fourth straight loss.
“We needed that, we needed to be tested throughout 48-minute games,” Irving said. “One of the hardest things to do is sweep teams. We understand how important it is to come in and get a win and get rest.”
Wizards 121, Celtics 102:
Bradley Beal scored 29 points and Washington used a 26-0 third-quarter run to rout visiting Boston and tie the secondround Eastern Conference series at two games apiece.
John Wall added 27 points and 12 assists for the Wizards. Wall had seven points, three assists and two steals during the third-quarter spree that featured eight Celtics turnovers. Otto Porter scored four of his 18 points in the dominant 6-minute span that also included five points from Markieff Morris.
Trailing, 53-48, before the run, Washington led, 74-53, on Porter’s layup with 5 minutes left in the third. The Wizards led by as many as 26 and outscored the Celtics (237191) in the two games in D.C.
Isaiah Thomas had 19 points for Boston, but scored 17 in the first 15 minutes and was held to 1of-6 shooting after.
Rockets 125, Spurs 104:
James Harden scored 28 points, Eric Gordon added 22 and host Houston rebounded from consecutive losses to tie the Western Conference semifinal at 2-2.
The Rockets never trailed and used hot three-point shooting to pull away in the third.
Jonathon Simmons had 17 points for the Spurs, and Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 apiece.