Cavs, Heat assume 2-0 leads in series
CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 27 points, J.R. Smith made seven of Cleveland’s NBA playoff record-tying 20 3-pointers, and the Cavaliers opened a 2-0 lead in their series with a 107-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15 to protect homecourt advantage.
There was nothing easy about their first two wins and the Cavs, favored to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals, will have their work cut out when the series resumes Friday night at Detroit.
Kyrie Irving added 22 points for Cleveland, which went 20 of 38 on 3s and tied the postseason record shared by Golden State (2015), Dallas (2011) and Seattle (1996).
Andre Drummond scored 20 and Reggie Jackson 14 for the Pistons, who have lost 10 straight playoff games against Cleveland. Drummond was just 4 of 16 from the line.
Smith’s outside shooting was a welcomed addition for the Cavs, who got 81 points from James, Irving and Kevin Love in Game 1 but can’t count on that production from them every time. Smith scored only nine points in the opener, but that didn’t deter him from firing away, and he finished 7-of-11 from long range.
HEAT 115, HORNETS 103
Dwyane Wade had 28 points and eight assists, Hassan Whiteside made all eight of his shots and finished with 17 points, and Miami beat visiting Charlotte to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Luol Deng had 16, and Whiteside grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points for Charlotte, needing 29 shots to get there. Al Jefferson had 25 on 12-for-17 shooting off the bench for Charlotte — which has dropped 12 straight playoff games.
It was the 100th 20-point game of Wade’s playoff career. The Heat are 64-36 in those games.
The Heat have averaged 119 points in the first two games of the series, which shifts to Charlotte for Game 3 on Saturday night.