LeBron has help as Cavs pull out win in OT
TORONTO — This time, LeBron James didn't have to do it all by himself.
James had 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 21st career playoff triple-double, J.R. Smith scored 20 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 113112 in overtime on Tuesday night to win Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Kyle Korver scored 19 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime after Cleveland never led in regulation. Tristan Thompson had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have eliminated Toronto in each of the past two postseasons.
“My teammates were unbelievable tonight,” James said. “They stepped up when I wasn't at my best.”
Jeff Green scored 16 points and Kevin Love had 13 rebounds.
James, who topped 40 points three times in seven games against Indiana in round one, shot 12 for 30 against Toronto, going 1 for 8 from 3-point range, and called it “probably one of my worst games of the season.”
Still, James came through when it counted, tying the score with two baskets in the final 92 seconds of regulation to complete Cleveland's comeback from a doubledigit deficit.
“It got to a one-possession, two-possession game,” James said. “That's what I like the most.”
Toronto's Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds to go in overtime that could have won it for the Raptors, who couldn't hold on after taking a 10-point lead early in the fourth.
“He got a heck of a shot,” Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said. “I'll live with him shooting that shot 10 times out of 10. We got a good look and it just didn't fall.”
Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 21 rebounds, Kyle Lowry had 18 points and 10 assists, and DeRozan scored 22 points for the Raptors, who host Game 2 on Thursday night.
Korver's 3 early in overtime gave the Cavaliers their first lead of the game, 108-105.
Lowry's three-point play made it 113-112 with 57 seconds to go and, after the Cavs were called for a shot-clock violation, Toronto had one more chance to win, but VanVleet couldn't come through.
“We feel good about the win, but I think we were also very fortunate,” Korver said.
The Raptors shot 5 for 24 in the fourth quarter, with Valanciunas missing six of seven attempts. Toronto missed its final 11 shots in regulation.
“I don't know if it was nerves or yips or what,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Just things that shot ourselves in the foot when we had a 10point lead.”
Stephen Curry scored 28 points off the bench in his first action in more than a month as Golden State won at home to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Curry has been out since March 23 with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He checked in with 4 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter, with the Warriors trailing 18-11. But by the end of the first quarter, they had narrowed the gap to 29-27, with Curry scoring eight points in the quarter.
Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 29 points.