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

Watching LeBron James during the Cavaliers’ morning shootaround, Kevin Love knew something special was in store.

“You could just sense it,” Love said. “He knew what was at stake, (that) us getting another win here was going to be huge. He came out and played that way from the jump.”

James had 43 points and 14 assists, Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cavaliers beat the Raptors 128-110 on Thursday in Toronto to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

James delivered the first 40-point, 14-assist game in NBA playoff history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He added eight rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight tripledouble.

“He got it going and was feeling it,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said.

James, meanwhile, gave credit to Love, who shot 11-for-21 and missed matching his career playoff high by one point.

“It was great to see that performance out of him,” James said. “He’s our AllStar power forward. That’s a huge game for him.”

J.R. Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and George Hill 13 as the Cavaliers posted their eighth consecutive postseason win over the Raptors.

“Love got going and that was a difficult matchup for us,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “We have some matchup issues all over the court.”

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 one step closer to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of James and the Cavaliers.

Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, and the host Celtics rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat the 76ers and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Terry Rozier added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and five rebounds as the Celtics improved to 6-0 at TD Garden during this postseason.

They have never blown a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3 is Saturday Philadelphia.

J.J. Redick had 23 points for the 76ers, making five 3-pointers, and Robert Covington added 22 points and nine rebounds.

Joel Embiid finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but rookie star Ben Simmons missed all four shots and had just one point. in