Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition

LeBron James, right, and the Cleveland Cavaliers complete a sweep of Toronto.

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LeBron James and the Cavaliers are headed back to a familiar place after sweeping another overmatche­d opponent.

James scored 35 points, Kyrie Irving added 27 and the Cavs swept the Raptors, winning 109-102 on Sunday in Toronto to give James his seventh consecutiv­e trip to the 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. 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 after a title and the first to win eight straight in consecutiv­e postseason­s.

“The fact that we play our best basketball in the postseason lets us know that we’re up for the challenge,” said James, who also had nine rebounds and six assists.

Channing Frye scored 10 points and Irving tallied nine assists for the Cavs, who went 16-for-41 from 3-point range.

“When LeBron is shooting the 3 ball the way he is, at the rate he’s shooting it, they’re difficult,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s gong to take a herculean effort to beat them.”

Serge Ibaka scored 23 points, and DeMar DeRozan had 22 the Raptors.

Wizards 121, Celtics 102:

Bradley Beal scored 29 points and the Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to win, tying the second-round series 2-2.

John Wall added 27 points and 12 assists for the host 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 six-minute span that also included five points from Markieff Morris.

Trailing 53-48 before the run, the Wizards went on to lead by as many as 26.

Isaiah Thomas had 19 points for the Celtics but scored 17 in the first 15 minutes and was held to 1 of 6 after that.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston. The series winner will face the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kerr in ‘gray area’:

The procedure Warriors coach Steve Kerr had for a spinal-cord leak went well, general manager Bob Myers said. But Kerr still is in a “gray area,” said Myers, and no timetable has been establishe­d for his return.

The Warriors have won a franchise-record seven consecutiv­e playoff games in a single postseason and will try to sweep the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals Monday night.

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