LOS ANGELES: LeBron James led the way as the Cleveland Cavaliers finally broke the Atlanta Hawks' resistance to seal a 104-93 victory and take a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-final playoff series on Monday.
James scored 25 points and came up with two big steals late in the fourth quarter to help the Cavaliers seize the early initiative in the best-of-seven series at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points with eight assists and one rebound as the well-rested Cavaliers dominated against a weary Atlanta.
The Cavs had benefited from more than a week off after wrapping up a 4-0 sweep of the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
A satisfied James suggested Cleveland had benefited from eight days off against an Atlanta side who were taken to six games by the Boston Celtics in the previous round.
"Give a lot of credit to the Atlanta Hawks, they brought it today," James said.
"Obviously, you could tell they went through a longer series than us.
"We're going to get better as the season goes on but it's a great start to the series."
James meanwhile was pleased with his own contribution to the victory.
"I had to make some plays for this team," James said. "They look at me as the leader of this team every single night."
Germany's Dennis Schroder was the top scorer for Atlanta, pouring on a game-high 27 points with six assists and three rebounds.
Paul Millsap added 17 points while Kent Bazemore finished with 16 points for the beaten visitors.
Atlanta had fought back to within four at 92-88 with 3:11 left on the clock before James dispossessed Schroder and converted a three-point play to stretch the Cavs lead.
Comments
Comments are closed.