LeBron scores 35, Cavs top Raptors in Game 1
James playfully grabs beer from courtside server during game
CLEVELAND — LeBron James resisted drinking some beer. He downed the Raptors again instead.
James grabbed a bottle of beer on the sideline while scoring 35 points, Kyrie Irving added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up where they left off following a long layoff and throttled Toronto 116-105 on Monday night in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
The Cavs hadn’t played since April 23, when they completed a four-game sweep of Indiana. But the defending champions didn’t show signs of rust and were well-prepared to face the revenge-seeking Raptors, who lost to Cleveland in last year’s conference finals.
“That was the mystery coming into the game, how we would come out?” James said. “Obviously you prepare, you want to come out and play well, but you never know after an eight-day layoff. But the energy was phenomenal.”
Toronto dropped to 1-12 in playoff openers, and the Raptors got blown out in the playoffs for the fourth straight time in Cleveland. Game 2 is Wednesday night. Kyle Lowry scored 20 and DeMar DeRozan 19 for the Raptors, who were within seven in the third quarter before James dropped a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play, drained another 3 and then considered washing down a brew — a moment he said wasn’t planned.
After drawing a foul on a missed layup, James playfully hopped toward the sideline, where a courtside server was passing by. The threetime champion reached and grabbed a beer bottle from her hand and