Don’t count out the King just yet
LeBron James scores 45 points as Cavaliers outlast the Pacers in Game 7 to advance to second round.
LeBron James scored 45 points and got some needed help in Game 7 to stay unbeaten in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105- 101 win over the Indiana Pacers, who pushed the game’s best player to the limit.
James improved to 13- 0 in the first round and kept host Cleveland’s strange season alive — for the time being. It took everything James and the Cavs had to hold off the Pacers, who were swept by Cleveland a year ago and came in confident after a 34point win in Game 6.
The Cavs will open the conference semifinals on Tuesday at top- seeded Toronto.
James, 33, who left late in the third quarter and headed to the locker room to be treated for cramps before returning, played 43 minutes in what some Cleveland fans feared could have been his last game with the franchise.
Tristan Thompson made a rare start for the Cavs — Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue used his 34th different starting lineup this season — and added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Love made four three- pointers, and George Hill returned after missing three games with back spasms to score 11 in 19 second- half minutes.
Victor Oladipo scored 30 and Darren Collison had 23 for the Pacers, who were still within four points in the final minute before James scored on a bullet pass from Kyle Korver with 30 seconds left.
“Best receiver in the NBA,” Korver said of James. “Just got to put it up there .”
Oladipo hit a three at the horn and was immediately embraced by James, who had never played a Game 7 in the first round and wasn’t about to let Indiana end his run toward an eighth straight NBA Finals.
It was the first Game 7 in Quicken Loans Arena history, and Cleveland fans were on edge from the start.
A loss would not only have ended the Cavs’ season earlier than expected and their reign as three- time conference champions, but also would have pushed James closer to free agency. He’s expected to opt out of his contract in July to test the market, and there’s already a line of teams stretching from Philadelphia to Los Angeles looking to sign the three- time champion.
at Houston 110, Utah 96: James Harden scored 41 points and the Rockets raced to a huge lead and cruised to a Game 1 victory in the Western Conference semifinals.
Houston was up by 25 at halftime behind a combined 34 points by Harden and Chris Paul. The Jazz, who didn’t wrap up their f irstround series with Oklahoma City until late Friday night, looked sluggish and struggled to keep pace with the energy of the top- seeded Rockets, who hadn’t played since eliminating Minnesota on Wednesday.
It was Houston’s fourth straight win by 10 or more points this postseason.
Harden, who also had seven assists and eight rebounds, picked up where he left off in the regular season against the Jazz when he averaged 34.3 points, led by a 56- point performance in a 137- 110 win in November.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Jae Crowder each scored 21 points; starting point guard Ricky Rubio sat with a strained hamstring.