James, Cavaliers roll past Raptors in opener
The Sports Xchange
May 1, 2017
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 35 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their playoff dominance over the Toronto Raptors with a 116-105 win in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal on Monday night.
James added 10 rebounds and four assists. He also tied Kobe Bryant for second place in league history with his 88th playoff game scoring at least 30 points.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Love finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Cavs have opened the 2017 playoffs with five consecutive wins. The Monday game was their first since a first-round sweep of Indiana ended April 23.
The Raptors, who were bounced by the Cavs from the Eastern Conference finals in six games last season, were led by 20 points from Kyle Lowry and 19 from DeMar DeRozan. P.J. Tucker finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Serge Ibaka added 15 points, and Lowry had a game-high 11 assists.
Toronto is 1-12 in franchise history in Game 1 of any playoff series.
The Cavs led this one by as many as 25 points and were up 22 when the fourth quarter began.
Cleveland scored 12 more points on 3s than the Raptors (14 3-pointers to 10), and seven more from the foul line.
The Cavs are now 16-1 at home in the Eastern Conference playoffs dating to 2015.
NOTES: The Raptors' last win in the first game of a playoff series was May 6, 2001, at Philadelphia in an Eastern Conference semifinal. They have lost their last 10 openers. ... Raptors coach Dwane Casey would not say 90 minutes before game time whether he was starting Jonas Valanciunas or Norman Powell. Valanciunas, a 7-footer and usual starter, got the nod and finished with six points and six assists. Casey used Powell in a small starting lineup for Games 4-6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and the Raptors won all three games. ... Cavs coach Tyronn Lue left G Iman Shumpert in his nine-man rotation ahead of Richard Jefferson, and the result was a posterizing dunk by Shumpert over Raptors F Serge Ibaka late in the first quarter. ... Paul Pierce, who played his last NBA game on Sunday with the Los Angeles Clippers, led the last Eastern Conference team to beat LeBron James in the playoffs. The Boston Celtics bounced the Cavs from the East semifinals in 2010.
May 1, 2017
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 35 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their playoff dominance over the Toronto Raptors with a 116-105 win in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal on Monday night.
James added 10 rebounds and four assists. He also tied Kobe Bryant for second place in league history with his 88th playoff game scoring at least 30 points.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Love finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Cavs have opened the 2017 playoffs with five consecutive wins. The Monday game was their first since a first-round sweep of Indiana ended April 23.
The Raptors, who were bounced by the Cavs from the Eastern Conference finals in six games last season, were led by 20 points from Kyle Lowry and 19 from DeMar DeRozan. P.J. Tucker finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Serge Ibaka added 15 points, and Lowry had a game-high 11 assists.
Toronto is 1-12 in franchise history in Game 1 of any playoff series.
The Cavs led this one by as many as 25 points and were up 22 when the fourth quarter began.
Cleveland scored 12 more points on 3s than the Raptors (14 3-pointers to 10), and seven more from the foul line.
The Cavs are now 16-1 at home in the Eastern Conference playoffs dating to 2015.
NOTES: The Raptors' last win in the first game of a playoff series was May 6, 2001, at Philadelphia in an Eastern Conference semifinal. They have lost their last 10 openers. ... Raptors coach Dwane Casey would not say 90 minutes before game time whether he was starting Jonas Valanciunas or Norman Powell. Valanciunas, a 7-footer and usual starter, got the nod and finished with six points and six assists. Casey used Powell in a small starting lineup for Games 4-6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and the Raptors won all three games. ... Cavs coach Tyronn Lue left G Iman Shumpert in his nine-man rotation ahead of Richard Jefferson, and the result was a posterizing dunk by Shumpert over Raptors F Serge Ibaka late in the first quarter. ... Paul Pierce, who played his last NBA game on Sunday with the Los Angeles Clippers, led the last Eastern Conference team to beat LeBron James in the playoffs. The Boston Celtics bounced the Cavs from the East semifinals in 2010.
