Cavs pull away for 3-0 lead
Fourth-quarter run keeps Cleveland perfect in playoffs.
LeBron James scored 35 points, Kevin Love had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Toronto Raptors 115-94 on Friday night and take a 3-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 19 for the Raptors, who were without threetime All-Star Kyle Lowry. They trailed by only two after three quarters before the Cavaliers quickly blew open the game.
G a m e 4 i s S u n d a y i n Toronto.
The Cavaliers are the only team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949 and 1950 to win their first seven playoff games in consecutive seasons.
Cleveland won 10 straight t o be g i n t he pl ayof f s l a s t y e a r. T h a t s t r e a k e n d e d when Toronto beat the Cavs in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, but the Raptors couldn’t duplicate the feat this time around.
Kyrie Irving scored 16 points and Kyle Korver had 14 for the Cavs, who have posted three straight double-digit wins over Toronto. James had eight rebounds and seven assists.
Norman Powell scored 13 points and Serge Ibaka had 12 for the Raptors, who shot 2 for 18 from 3-point range.
Lowry sprained hi s left ankle in the third quarter Cavaliers 115, Raptors 94 (Cleveland leads 3-0) Spurs at Rockets, late (Series tied 1-1)
of Game 2 and did not practice Thursday. He worked out a few hours before Friday’s game and was on the court during warmups but limped
back to the locker room before the national anthems. Cory Joseph started for Toronto.
Even without Lowry, the R a p t o r s t r a i l e d 7 9 -7 7 t o begin the fourth, but Cleveland pulled away as Toronto missed 10 of its first 11 field goal attempts to begin the final quarter. James hit four free throws on either side of a 3-pointer to put the Cavs up 97-80 with 6:20 left.
Late Thursday
Warriors 115, Jazz 104: Draymond Green made five 3 - poi nt e r s a nd s c o re d 2 1 points as host Golden State defeated Utah for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Kevin Durant added 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Stephen Curry had 23 points and seven assists as the Warriors moved to 6-0 in the playoffs.
Gordon Hayward scored 33 points, and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out for a Jazz team missing injured point guard George Hill. He was out with a sore left big toe.
Game 3 is tonight in Salt Lake City.
Elsewhere
Hawks: Mike Budenholzer resigned as the team’s president of basketball operations and will remain as coach. The Hawks also removed Wes Wilcox as general manager as part of the reorganization of their front office. Wilcox will become a special adviser to ownership, which will begin a search for a general manager.
Spurs: Guard Tony Parker underwent surgery to repair a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. Parker has been ruled out for the rest of the postseason.