Smith gets hot; Carroll gets hurt

ATLANTA — J.R. Smith knocked down a tough 3-pointer, then another. As he turned toward the fans, their heckling transformed to groans, and he blew off his right index finger and motioned toward his side, like he was holstering his pistol. Yep, Smith was that hot. While LeBron James led Cleveland with 31 points, it was Smith who ignited the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. He made eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points in a 97-89 victory over the topseeded Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

“When he gets hot,” Cleveland coach David Blatt said, “he gets smoking hot.”

Intent on bringing Cleveland its first NBA title, James sealed the victory with a soaring dunk in the final minute.

For the Hawks, it was the second straight series in which they’ve lost the opening game at home.

Making matters worse for Atlanta, DeMarre Carroll went down with a knee injury driving to the basket with 4:59 remaining. He was helped to the locker room, not putting any weight on his left leg, and will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine the seriousness.

Besides being the main defender on James, Carroll had been the Hawks’ leading scorer in the playoffs. He was averaging more than 17 points coming into Atlanta’s first conference final.

“DeMarre is a complete player,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He has a big impact at both ends of the court.”

Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 27 points. But the Hawks didn’t produce their usual balanced scoring, as two starters — Kyle Korver and Carroll — failed to reach double figures.