Cleveland bolts to early lead, dominates series opener
CLEVELAND — If the Toronto Raptors were going to break the trends of their recent and distant pasts, Monday night was not the night.
LeBron James and the Cavs rolled them in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinals 116-105 at Quicken Loans Arena.
James had 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes. This was James' 88th playoff game with at least 30 points, tying him for second all time in that category with Kobe Bryant.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists. The Cavs' Tristan Thompson was tough with 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Love contributed 18 points and nine rebounds.
"I think we had great energy, and even some of the mistakes that we had we were able to cover up for because our energy level was high," James said. "But we'll be a lot better on Wednesday."
The Cavs will host Game 2 that night.
Now, for the Raptors' dismal history lessons.
They are now 1-12 in the opening games of their 13 playoff series. Their only win was May 6, 2001. They've lost the past 10 openers.
Also, in last year's conference finals between these teams, won 4-2 by the Cavs, Cleveland won the three games at Quicken Loans Arena by an average of 29 points.
The Cavs led by as many as 25 late in the third quarter Monday and were up 96-74 at the end of the quarter. The Raptors reduced the deficit in garbage time late in the game.
"At the end of the day, we are who we are," James said. "We know what we're about, we know how we can win, and you go from there, so it's not about trying to surprise nobody. It's about trying to out-execute them, and we'll see where that takes you."
The Cavs have won four of their first five in this postseason. They were stellar against the Raptors after going seven days between games. Toronto shot 43.8 percent from the field and committed 12 turnovers, leading to 18 Cavs points.
The Raptors were led by 20 points from Kyle Lowry. DeMar DeRozan finished with 19 on 7-of-16 shooting. Serge Ibaka added 15 points.
Cleveland committed 12 turnovers leading to 13 Raptors points. The Cavs hit 24 of 29 free throws and 14 of 34 from three-point range.
The Raptors made 10 threes and 17 free throws — a huge difference in the game.
Things have gone so well for James early in this postseason that he can stop for an ingame drink. In the third quarter, he hustled for a ball near the sideline and, after play had stopped, he grabbed a beer out of a vendor's tray and nearly took a swig. Who would've cared? He scored 12 points in the quarter.
In the first round against the Pacers, James became the first player to average at least 30 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks in a playoff series. He's still on that kind of roll.