LeBron, Cavs sweep Raptors
TORONTO — LeBron James and the Cavaliers are headed back to a familiar place after sweeping aside another overmatched opponent.
James scored 35 points, Kyrie Irving added 27 and Cleveland swept Toronto, beating the Raptors 109-102 on Sunday 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 to the Eastern Conference Finals. 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.”
Asked to choose between the Celtics and Wizards, James claimed not to have a preferred opponent.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I’m excited about us getting an opportunity to represent our franchise in the Eastern Conference Finals to go play for the big one.”
WIZARDS 121, CELTICS 102: In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 29 points and the Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to tie the second-round series at two games apiece.
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 sixminute span that also included five points from Markieff Morris.
Trailing 53-48 before the run, Washington led 74-53 on Porter’s layup with 5 minutes left in the third. The Wizards led by as many as 26 and outscored the Celtics (237-191) in the two games in D.C. Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston.
ROCKETS 125, SPURS 104: In Houston, James Harden scored 28 points, Eric Gordon added 22 and the Rockets rebounded from consecutive losses to tie the Western Conference semifinal at 2-2.
The Rockets never trailed and used hot 3-point shooting to pull away in the third quarter.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in San Antonio.
The Rockets’ 3-point shooting, a hallmark of their success in the regular season, got back on track Sunday when they made 19 of 43, led by six from Gordon.