Cavs sweep into East finals

James, Cleveland 8-0 in postseason; Wizards tie Celtics.

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

James scored 35 points and Kyrie Irving added 27 as Cleveland swept Toronto, beating the host Raptors 109102 Sunday to give James his seventh consecutive trip to the East 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. … 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.

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

Channing Frye scored 10 points, and Irving had nine assists for Cleveland. The Cavs were 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,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “It’s gong to take a Herculean effort to beat them.”

The Cavs finished off the Raptors about an hour before Game 4 between the Celtics and Wizards tipped off in Washington.

That series won’t end until Wednesday night at the earliest, and could run until Monday night, meaning the Cavaliers will have plenty of time to rest before the finals.

Serge Ibaka scored 23 points, and DeMar DeRozan had 22 for Toronto.

(At) Wizards 121, Celtics 102: Bradley Beal scored 29 points for Washington, and Wizards got a 26-0 third-quarter run to tie the East series at 2-2.

John Wall added 27 points and 12 assists for Washington. 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.

Warriors: The spinal cord leak procedure Steve Kerr had Friday at Duke University went well, according to general manager Bob Myers, but there is no timetable for the coach’s return.

Kerr had back surgery about two years ago and has been dealing with complications. Assistant Mike Brown took over as acting coach for Game 3 of the first-round series against Portland.

Kerr did not travel to Salt Lake City for the 102-91 victory over Utah on Saturday night that gave Golden State a 3-0 lead in the West series.

NATHAN DENETTE / CANADIAN PRESS Cleveland’s LeBron James, dunking over Serge Ibaka during his 35-point performance, has reached the conference finals in seven straight years.