James, struggling Cavs routed again, Raptors romp 133-99

By IAN HARRISON
Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- LeBron James isn't enjoying the view lately, watching the end of blowout losses from the Cleveland Cavaliers' bench.

James and his struggling Cavaliers absorbed their most-lopsided rout of the season, overwhelmed by the Toronto Raptors 133-99 on Thursday night.

The Cavaliers have dropped six of eight dating to a Christmas Day defeat at defending champion Golden State. James scored 26 points in this loss while Isaiah Thomas missed his first 11 shots.

"I don't know where it kind of went wrong or what happened," James said. "We've got to try to pick it back up and find it."

After losing to Minnesota 127-99 on Monday, the Cavaliers fell by an even bigger margin. Toronto's 133 points were the most by any Cavaliers opponent this season, and marked the third straight game that Cleveland has allowed at least 127.

So, what has been James' biggest beef with Cleveland's last two losses?

"That I haven't played in the fourth quarter," he said, adding his team is getting "tore up."

Kevin Love, who scored 10 points, said he's confident the Cavs can turn it around in time to reach the finals for a fourth straight season.

"We have enough talent here to get over that hump and make a lot of good things happen," Love said. "Right now it's just tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel but it is there. We will get out of it and we will get better."

Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and a season-high 18 rebounds and the Raptors overcame the absences of two starters.

C.J.Miles scored 16 points, Pascal Siakam and Norm Powell each had 14 and DeMar DeRozan 13 for the Raptors, who were without point guard Kyle Lowry (bruised tailbone) and forward Serge Ibaka (suspension). Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors.

VanVleet made six of eight 3-point attempts as the Raptors connected on a season-high 18 shots from beyond the arc.

"I was really proud of the way he came to play," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

Toronto's 12-game home winning streak was snapped in Tuesday's loss to Miami, but the Raptors bounced back in their first meeting with Cleveland since the Cavaliers swept the Raptors out of the second round of the playoffs last May.

Thomas connecting on a short jumper at 7:22 of the third quarter for his first basket. He finished 2 for 15 and went 0 for 6 from 3-point range. Playing for the fourth time this season as he returns from a right hip injury, Thomas scored four points in 24 minutes.

"He'll be fine," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "He's going to have to work out some kinks, but he'll be fine."

Lowry missed his second straight game after he was injured in a heavy fall in overtime of Monday's win at Brooklyn. Lowry participated in shootaround Thursday morning but is still too sore to play.

Ibaka served a one-game suspension for throwing a punch at Miami's James Johnson in Tuesday's home loss to the Heat.

Leading 30-24 after one quarter, the Raptors extended their lead in the second thanks to their bench. Siakam scored 10 points and VanVleet had eight as Toronto led 65-40 at halftime.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Thomas missed all 10 of his field goal attempts in the first half. ... G Derrick Rose who has been out since Nov. 7 with an ankle injury, will not play Friday at Indiana. G Iman Shumpert, out since Nov. 20 with a knee injury, is also expected to miss Friday's game. ... Cleveland is 11-11 on the road.

Raptors: Outscored Cleveland 76-48 in bench points. ... Outrebounded the Cavs 63-35.

RECORD-BREAKING START

Toronto's 29 wins through 40 games are the most in franchise history. The Raptors started 28-13 in 2016-17.

END OF THE LINE

Thomas failed to make at least one 3-pointer for the first time in 60 games. It had been the second-longest streak in the NBA behind Golden State's Klay Thompson (95).

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Thomas is expected to rest when Cleveland concludes a back-to-back by visiting Indiana on Friday. The Pacers have won both meetings with the Cavs this season.

Raptors: Host Golden State on Saturday. Toronto has lost seven straight to the Warriors.

Durant delivers on both ends, Warriors beat Cavaliers 99-92

By JANIE McCAULEY
Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) LeBron James drove to the basket in the waning seconds and Kevin Durant swatted away any chance Cleveland had at a Christmas Day comeback.

Durant pumped his fist again and again, emphatically shook his head and pounded his chest in delight. It looked a lot like the dominant Durant from the NBA Finals six months ago.

Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:33 left, Durant delivered on both ends of the floor, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Cavaliers 99-92 on Monday in a festive holiday rematch of the past three Finals.

"There's just so much joy in the arena today because it's Christmas and we all feed off of that," Durant said.

Durant's block against a driving James with 24.5 seconds left went out of bounds off James, who said he thought he was fouled on the play. Durant finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

"He's one of the leaders in shot blocks a game and obviously he had five tonight, so he's been doing a heck of a job of first of all taking the individual matchup and protecting the rim, too," James said.

Kevin Love had 31 points and a season-best 18 rebounds, while James contributed 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in a rivalry missing one key piece: Warriors star Stephen Curry, who missed his eighth straight game with a sprained right ankle.

Thompson scored 24 points and Draymond Green had a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was Golden State's 12th win in 13 games after its 11-game winning streak was snapped by Denver on Saturday night.

Warriors rookie Jordan Bell traveled with 2:13 left and James tied it. Bell made up for that mistake with a key offensive rebound and pass to Thompson for his fourth 3.

James' 3-pointer with 10:39 left pulled Cleveland within one, but Green answered with a 3 and Andre Iguodala scored two of his nine points the next time down. In another key sequence, Durant blocked Tristan Thompson's shot with 6:23 to go and dunked moments later.

No surprise, the up-tempo, running rivals provided high entertainment once again. The Warriors last June captured a second championship in three years against James and the Cavaliers.

"I forgot all about it," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said with a chuckle.

The teams will see each other again soon, playing Jan. 15 in Cleveland.

KD requested James for his defensive assignment, to which he explained simply, "I just like guarding my position."

The Cavs, having won six of seven and playing for the first time since Thursday, had their run of scoring at least 100 points end at 26 games.

The Warriors were at nearly full strength again aside from Curry, who could return this week once he goes through some scrimmages at practice.

Center Zaza Pachulia was available but didn't play after sitting out seven consecutive games, while Shaun Livingston came back after missing four games with a sore right knee.

Bell - who addressed the sellout crowd at midcourt moments before tipoff - started at center and had eight points and six rebounds.

SHOOTING WOES

The Cavs' 31.8-percent shooting was the lowest by a Warriors opponent in nearly four years, since Charlotte shot 31.2 percent from the field on Feb. 4, 2014.

"We just didn't make shots," Lue said.

A REAL RIVALRY

Sure, this one felt a little strange without Curry or Kyrie Irving, now in Boston.

"Golden State-Cavaliers, that's a big game, no matter who's playing, who's out," Lue said.

"It will be weird, without Steph, without Ky, especially the battles we've had over the last three years. So both teams look different."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows just the uniforms are enough to get everybody going - and this marked the third straight Christmas matchup between the franchises, alternating home floors based on who won the title.

"It's always great to play the Cavs, they're an awesome team," Kerr said. "LeBron is so amazing and it's so fun to feel the energy in the building when the two teams get together. Neither team will look the same as we will even a month from now because Steph and Isaiah Thomas both should be back, hopefully they'll both be back. ... But it doesn't even matter sometimes, just the two uniforms in the same building gets people going."

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Lue isn't yet ready to guess when Thomas will return following his right hip injury. "He is progressing very well," Lue said. "The most important thing is that he is getting to practice and playing 5-on-5 and having a chance to experience feeling well after it and not having soreness." ... Cleveland is 19-3 since Nov. 11, including 8-3 on the road.

Warriors: Durant averaged 32 points over his seven previous Christmas Day games. ... Golden State played its fifth consecutive Christmas game and seventh in eight. ... The Warriors were 10 of 37 on 3s after they went a dismal 3 for 27 from 3-point range in losing to the Nuggets. ... Kerr began his pregame session by thanking all of the arena staff and Golden State employees for their service and for working on the holiday. ... Thompson's holiday sneakers might have stood out most: neon green on the left foot, neon pink on the right.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Visit Kings on Wednesday as they play the middle contest of a three-game West trip.

Warriors: Host Utah on Wednesday.

Wade helps Cavs top Bulls for win 12th straight

CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade finds himself in a new role with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, but when the veteran guard finds the offensive rhythm he has been in of late, he still possesses the ability to take over a game.

With all of the talent Wade has around him, when he is rolling, so are the Cavaliers.

Wade and Kevin Love each scored 24 points, and LeBron James finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Cavaliers won their 12th straight game, a 113-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

The Cavaliers (17-7) can tie a franchise record for consecutive victories with a win Wednesday against Sacramento.

At 35, Wade is a leading early candidate for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year following a season playing for his hometown Bulls. In his first visit back to Chicago with his new team, Wade insisted he had no agenda against his former team.

"I'm just in a good groove and I'm just taking my opportunities as they come," Wade said.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Wade played in familiar surroundings Monday with an extra dose of energy.

"He wanted to play well," Lue said. "Coming back home, he's from Chicago, his family's here, his friends are here, he wanted to play well. And he did. He gave us a great boost."

Cleveland, which also got 14 points from Jeff Green, built a 21-point lead just two minutes into the second half before a Love 3-pointer forced Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg to call a timeout.

Cleveland outscored the Bulls 13-5 to open the third quarter behind Love, who scored 10 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half. Love sparked the Cavaliers in the third quarter before James, who didn't attempt a shot in the third quarter, again picked up in the final 12 minutes when he scored eight points as Cleveland won going away.

"Just a total team effort," Lue said. "Kevin (Love) got going in the third quarter, (Wade) was great (and) LeBron got going in the fourth quarter. Just a total team effort. Guys are just playing well right now.

The Bulls, who have lost nine straight points, started strong and led by as many as six points in the game's opening minutes. But once Wade began to score and Love and James got rolling, Chicago couldn't keep pace.

Kris Dunn scored 15 points to lead Chicago (3-19), which also got 14 points from Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday. Lauri Markkanen finished with 13 points to go along with 10 from Bobby Portis.

As has become a trend for the young Bulls, Chicago struggled to play through adversity once the Cavaliers started rolling.

"We had about a five-minute stretch in the first half when we just lost our minds," Hoiberg said. "It's those stretches that we have to find a way to eliminate. When we're not making shots, we have to continue to guard."

The Cavaliers winning streak came after a rocky start to the season when, at one point, Cleveland lost four straight and six of eight games. But the Cavaliers -- who are still playing without guards Isaiah Thomas and Iman Shumpert along with forward Tristan Thompson -- have not lost since Nov. 9.

Despite the adjustments and various lineups that Lue has had to employ, the Cavaliers are finding ways to remain successful.

"We just (putting together) consistent efforts over a 48-minute span," Love said. "Early on, we put together really good quarters, but hadn't put together a full game of really good sustained efforts. I think that's showing right now."

The Cavs will look to keep it rolling on Wednesday.

"We're just in a good groove," James said. "And when you're in a good groove, you want to try to continue that."

NOTES: Cavaliers G Derrick Rose rejoined the team Monday and will continue to rehab his injured left ankle in Cleveland. Coach Tyronn Lue said he expected Rose to miss a couple more weeks after the former Chicago Bulls star left the Cavaliers on Nov. 22 to think about his playing future after sustaining the ankle injury on Nov. 9. "I know he's frustrated but like I said, I'm glad he's in a good place now," Lue told reporters Monday morning. ... F/C Channing Frye played after being initially listed as questionable with a dislocated finger. ... Bulls F Nikola Mirotic will practice Tuesday before it is determined whether he will travel with for Chicago's road games this week against Indiana and Charlotte. Mirotic said this weekend that he hopes to return this week after being out with facial fractures. ... F Bobby Portis returned after missing one game with an arm contusion.

Cavaliers win 5th straight in 116-88 rout of Pistons

By NOAH TRISTER
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — An emphatic win over a first-place opponent had LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers talking confidently again.

“We haven’t had a win like that in a very long time,” James said. “That’s what happens when we don’t let up.”

James scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter and the Cavaliers made 11 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a 116-88 rout of the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Cleveland led 73-46 at halftime thanks to an overwhelming shooting performance, an indication that Detroit’s stay atop the Central Division might not last much longer.

The Pistons still lead the Cavs by a game, but Cleveland has won five straight and scored at least 110 points in eight of its last nine.

“That was 48 minutes of game planning and execution right from the beginning,” James said. “They’ve been playing extremely good basketball. They were coming off a great win (Sunday) night in Minnesota, so we knew that they were going to come out here and try to give us their best shot, and had to be ready for that.”

The Cavaliers led 27-22 when James went to the bench late in the first quarter. By the time he came back in, it was 50-30. Cleveland’s reserves ended up outscoring Detroit’s 26-8 in the first half.

The Cavs shot 62 percent from the field in the first two quarters and 11 of 17 from 3-point range. They finished the game 16 of 33 from beyond the arc.

“I’m not upset at our guys. I didn’t see our guys quitting or anything like that,” Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We got a little bit shell shocked.”

This had the feel of a big game before it started. Although there were still some empty seats at Little Caesars Arena, the Pistons’ new home seemed closer to full than on previous nights, and the attendance was announced as a sellout. The team played well on offense at the start. A 3-pointer by Avery Bradley put Detroit ahead 18-17.

James, however, answered with two 3s and a turnaround jumper, and the Pistons weren’t able to keep up with Cleveland’s torrid shooting.

“He definitely did set the tone,” Detroit’s Tobias Harris said. “Made some really tough, contested shots — 3s. Got himself going, got his team going, and then they were able to just pretty much fuel off that.”

It was 36-23 after the first quarter, and the Cavs broke the game open at the start of the second. Channing Frye made back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 46-28.

Harris led Detroit with 11 points. Kevin Love had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland.

ANOTHER BLOWOUT

The previous matchup between these teams wasn’t much different. The Cavs beat Detroit 128-96 on March 14 in Cleveland. That was the largest margin of victory by the Cavs against the Pistons — although Cleveland nearly broke that mark Monday.

A BREATHER

Cleveland led 101-62 after three, and the top players for both teams sat out the final period. James ended up playing only 27:17 after surpassing 40 minutes in three of his previous five games.

“I played with Michael Jordan when he was 39; he played 37 minutes a night. Karl Malone was 37 and played 38 minutes a night,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “Everybody’s built different and if you’re one of the greats sometimes you’ve got to play and sometimes you get rest like tonight.”

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Cleveland still isn’t close to full strength. The Cavs were without Isaiah Thomas (right hip), Derrick Rose (left ankle sprain), Iman Shumpert (left knee effusion) and Tristan Thompson (left calf strain).

Pistons: Jon Leuer (left ankle sprain) did not play. ... Detroit’s six-game home winning streak was snapped. This was also the first time all season the Pistons lost the latter half of a back-to-back. They had been 3-0. ... Andre Drummond moved into fifth place on the Pistons’ career list with 5,205 rebounds. Larry Foust had 5,200.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Pistons: At the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

Hardaway, Knicks give Cavs 4th loss in 5 games, 114-95

Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — After the Cavaliers’ fourth loss in five games, LeBron James is turning to the calendar for comfort.

“What month is this for me? October? I’m not about to go crazy over it right now. It’s too long of a season. I’ve been a part of this way too many times,” James said after Sunday night’s 114-95 loss to the New York Knicks.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 34 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 32 and the Knicks won for the second time after losing their first three games.

Cleveland, which was blown out by Orlando at home and lost to Brooklyn during this stretch, fell below .500. The Cavaliers were routed 123-101 in New Orleans on Saturday.

“Tonight’s loss and the last couple are unacceptable,” coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Cavaliers are favorites to return to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season, but their issues continued, particularly on the defensive end.

“Guys are scoring at will against us,” James said. “Our defense is pretty bad right now.”

New York, after winning its first game Friday over the Nets, led 89-71 late in the third quarter. Cleveland cut it to 94-88 on James’ drive, forcing New York to call a timeout with 8:21 left.

Courtney Lee scored on a drive and hit a 3-pointer, helping the Knicks make it 103-88. New York took its largest lead, 114-93, in the final minute.

“We could have folded against a veteran team like that, but we made some big shots and pulled it out,” New York coach Jeff Hornacek said.

New York beat Cleveland for the first time since Oct. 30, 2014 — James’ first game back with the Cavaliers after playing four seasons in Miami — a span that covered 10 games.

“It’s nice to finally beat the Cavs for the first time in my career,” Porzingis said. “Hopefully we can be in the playoffs where that really matters.”

Hardaway came in shooting 27 percent in four games but scored 24 points in the first half. He was 11 of 19 from the field and hit 5 of 10 3-pointers.

“I did a lot more attacking,” Hardaway said. “I took the 3s when they were there. Seeing one go down opens up a lot.”

Kevin Love led the Cavaliers with 22 points while James had 16. Derrick Rose returned after missing four games because of a sprained left ankle and scored 15 points.

Cleveland led 13-10, but Hardaway scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers and a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Jarrett Jack, as New York went on a 14-0 run.

The Cavaliers tied it at 49 late in the second quarter, but the Knicks scored seven straight points and pushed the lead to 62-54 at halftime.

New York took over in the third quarter and built the lead to 17 on several occasions in the period.

BIG DAY REMEMBERED

Sunday marked the anniversary of James’ professional debut in 2003 against Sacramento. He had 25 points with nine assists and six rebounds.

“I played better 14 years ago than I did tonight,” James said.

ALMOST

Hardaway fell two points of his career high, which came on March 3 of last season against the Cavaliers while he played for Atlanta.

ANOTHER CHANGE

Rose’s return meant Lue went with his fifth different starting lineup in the first seven games.

ANOTHER INJURY

Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert didn’t play because of a sore right knee. He had spent time at point guard with Rose sidelined and started Saturday.

TIP-INS

Knicks: Porzingis had 12 rebounds while Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds. ... Lee scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds. ... Jack and G Ramon Sessions each spent one full season with Cleveland.

Cavaliers: Cleveland’s loss to Orlando snapped a 17-game winning streak against the Magic. ... Power forward Tristan Thompson had one point, no rebounds and four fouls in 19 minutes. ... Love hit two 3-pointers in the first six minutes, giving him 900 for his career.

UP NEXT

Knicks: Return home to play Denver on Monday night in their first back-to-back set of the season.

Cavaliers: Host Indiana on Wednesday night. Cleveland has won seven straight in the series at home.

Cavaliers’ Rose returns after missing 4 games

Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose will play against the New York Knicks on Sunday after missing four games because of a sprained left ankle.

Rose hasn’t played since the second game of the season on Oct. 20. The Cavaliers have lost three of the four games he’s missed.

Injuries to Rose and Dwyane Wade, who missed one game with a bruised left knee, has forced coach Tyronn Lue to juggle his starting lineup. Sunday’s game will mark Cleveland’s fifth different lineup in the first seven games.

Rose played with the Knicks last season, averaging 18.0 points and 4.4 assists in 64 games. He signed a one-year contract with Cleveland in July and became the team’s starter when Kyrie Irving was traded to Boston.

Rose was named the league’s MVP in 2011 while with the Chicago Bulls, but has battled injuries since.

Nets overcome James’ triple-double, beat Cavs 112-107

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — With injuries on both sides, the point guard matchup came down to LeBron James against Spencer Dinwiddie.

James had the bigger numbers.

Dinwiddie made the biggest plays.

Dinwiddie hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds left, and the Brooklyn Nets overcame James’ first triple-double of the season to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-107 on Wednesday night.

A former second-round pick of Detroit starting only because of injuries to Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell, Dinwiddie scored a career-high 22 points as the Nets blew a 14-point lead in the final quarter but recovered to improve to 3-2 — the same record as the defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers.

“Obviously they’re Eastern Conference champions just about every year — or actually every year — and then either win the Finals or don’t obviously,” Dinwiddie said. “And for us to pull out a win and be able to close them out obviously after they made their run and to be able to respond, I think it just of kind of brings a young group a little bit closer together and kind of shows us that we can do it and hopefully propels us going forward.”

James had 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in his 56th triple-double, but he missed two free throws — the second intentionally — with the Cavaliers trailing by two with 7.6 seconds remaining. DeMarre Carroll then hit a free throw and the Cavs’ long inbounds pass intended for James went out of bounds.

But the Cavs pointed to the start of the game as their problem.

“Just taking us too much time to get into the game; like get into the flow of the game,” James said. “Teams are playing with a faster pace than us to start the game and we have to figure that out for sure.”

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Allen Crabbe added 19 points apiece and Carroll scored 18 for the Nets, who bounced back from Tuesday’s loss in Orlando, when Russell sprained his right knee to join Lin on the injured list, and fell just shy of becoming the first NBA team in 32 years to open a season with five straight 115-point games.

“Everybody from 1 to 15 on the roster, everybody’s ready,” Crabbe said. “Everybody works hard, so when opportunities come guys are ready to step up and ready to play.”

With Derrick Rose still nursing a sprained left ankle and Dwyane Wade joining him after bruising his left knee in Tuesday’s victory over Chicago, James started at point guard in his 772nd game with the Cavs, passing former teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas for most in team history.

He ran the offense fine but his long-range shooters couldn’t convert enough of his passes. Kevin Love finished 4 for 13 from the floor and J.R. Smith was 1 for 9, missing all five 3-point attempts.

“I mean it’s a lot of pressure to put on LeBron, have him handle the ball for 40 minutes, and that’s why I talk about playing the point guard position, it could wear you down,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “Unfortunately that’s all we have right now until D-Rose gets back.”

The Nets led by 14 when Quincy Acy made a 3-pointer to open the scoring in the fourth, but James led the Cavs on a 13-0 run that gave them a 94-92 lead on Love’s 3-pointer. The teams traded narrow leads from there.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Lue said he hoped Rose could play Saturday at New Orleans. ... The Cavs had won the last four meetings.

Nets: The Nets are 3-0 at home for the first time since 2002-03, when they started 5-0 back in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ... The last team with five straight 115-games to open a season was the 1985-86 Pistons. The Nets came in leading the NBA with 123.5 points per game.

DRAFT DODGING

The Cavaliers will get the Nets’ first-round pick, which originally was dealt to Boston and then sent to Cleveland in the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas swap. But Lue said the Cavs aren’t paying attention to how the Nets are doing.

“My main focus is just on our team and try to get us to play the right way,” he said before the game.

BRONX BOMBERS IN BROOKLYN

Aaron Judge, CC Sabathia and Dellin Betances of the New York Yankees watched from a sideline seat.

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.

Nets: Visit New York on Friday.

James scores 34 as point guard, leads Cavaliers over Bulls

Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 34 points in a rare start at point guard and the Cleveland Cavaliers, using another early season lineup, awakened after a sluggish first half and beat the Chicago Bulls 119-112 on Tuesday night.

Although he often handles the ball and runs Cleveland’s offense, James had not officially been listed as a guard since 2012 with Miami. He added 13 assists, including a no-look, behind-the-back dish to Jae Crowder for a 3-pointer during Cleveland’s 15-3 spurt in the third quarter.

Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade, who asked Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to take him out of the starting lineup, came off the bench and added 11 points.

Justin Holiday scored 25 and rookie Lauri Markkanen 19 for Chicago, which made a season-high 17 3-pointers. The 7-foot Markkanen became the first player in NBA history to make 10 3-pointers in his first three career games.

CELTICS 110, KNICKS 89

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and Boston beat New York.

Kyrie Irving added 20 points and seven assists. Al Horford finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

After dropping their first two games to open the season, the Celtics have won two straight. The Knicks remain winless through their first three games.

Enes Kanter led New York with 16 points and 19 rebounds. But he got most of them in a first half in as his team struggled mightily from the field. The Knicks scored the first basket of the night, but never led again. They shot just 42 percent and went 1 of 12 from the 3-point line.

PACERS 130, TIMBERWOLVES 107

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Oladipo scored 28 points and Cory Joseph added 21 to lead hot-shooting Indiana past Minnesota.

Darren Collison had 15 points and 16 assists, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 67 percent from the floor.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who came out flat after a thrilling last-second win at Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Minnesota was missing forward Jimmy Butler, who sat out with an upper respiratory infection. Shabazz Muhammad took Butler’s spot in the starting lineup, and he contributed to Minnesota’s slow start, going 1-for-5 from the floor and missing two free throws in the first quarter.

MAGIC 125, NETS 121

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 41 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Orlando over Brooklyn.

Evan Fournier added 28 points in game that went back and forth late in the fourth quarter. He finished the scoring with two free throws with 15.5 seconds to play.

D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points for the Nets, while DeMarre Carroll had 19 and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 18.

TRAIL BLAZERS 103, PELICANS 93

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 23 points and Portland extended its NBA-record winning streak in home openers to 17 games with a 103-93 victory over New Orleans.

Damian Lillard and Evan Turner each added 13 points for Portland, which is off to a 3-1 start for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

DeMarcus Cousins had 39 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double to start the season. The Pelicans were hurt when Anthony Davis departed with a left knee injury in the first quarter.

CLIPPERS 102, JAZZ 84

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 22 points, Patrick Beverley added 19 and unbeaten Los Angeles beat Utah.

All five starters for the Clippers (3-0) finished in double figures. Austin Rivers had 16 points, Danilo Gallinari 14 and DeAndre Jordan added 11 points and 18 rebounds.

Rookie Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz (2-2) with 19 points, with Rudy Gobert adding 12 points and seven bounds. Thabo Sefolosha finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Celtics star Hayward suffers gruesome injury in opener

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Just five minutes into his Boston career, new Celtics star forward Gordon Hayward gruesomely broke his left ankle, an injury that may end his season.

Hayward, who signed a four-year, $128 million free agent contract this summer, went up for an alley-oop pass midway through the first quarter and collided with LeBron James. Hayward's leg twisted underneath him as he came back to the floor. The 27-year-old collapsed under the basket and looked in horror as his left foot was pointing outward.

He put his hands to his face and dropped back to the floor as a hush fell over the charged sellout crowd inside Quicken Loans Arena, which had come to boo Kyrie Irving in his return to Cleveland after being traded to Boston this summer.

Hayward's new teammates huddled in prayer at their bench as a distressed James covered his mouth and several Cleveland players nearby looked away. Hayward had his leg placed in an air cast, and James came over and consoled him before the he was pushed from the floor on a stretcher and taken for treatment.

Cleveland's crowd gave Hayward a roaring ovation as he left.

The Celtics later confirmed that Hawyard's left ankle was broken. It's a devastating blow for the Celtics, who had overhauled their roster with the signing of Hayward and acquisition of Irving in hopes of closing the gap on the Cavs in the Eastern Conference.

Now, they will be without Hayward for an extended period as he will likely need surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation.

Hayward spent the past six seasons with the Utah Jazz before signing with Boston, where he was reunited with Brad Stevens, who coached him at Butler.

Not long after Hayward went down, Oklahoma City All-Star Paul George sent encouragement to him on Twitter , asking for prayers. George overcame a similar injury when he broke his leg while playing for the U.S. national team.

God bless you bro @gordonhayward ! 🙏🏾 help him thru this god!

— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) October 18, 2017

Hayward suffers gruesome injury, Celtics lose opener 102-99

By TOM WITHERS
Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) — Gordon Hayward’s face was etched in pain and shock.

Of all the juicy subplots for this hyped homecoming and a season opener between heated rivals, a serious injury to Hayward wasn’t on the list.

Boston’s season changed in a gruesome instant Tuesday night.

Hayward, one of the new Celtics who was going to help them close the gap on Cleveland, broke his left ankle just five minutes into his debut, and Boston was beaten 102-99 on Tuesday night by LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Hayward’s horrific injury overshadowed Kyrie Irving’s return to Cleveland and re-directed Boston’s immediate future and potential.

After the 27-year-old was wheeled from Quicken Loans Arena on a stretcher , offering a thumbs-up on his way to the ambulance, the Celtics rallied but came up short.

The outcome, though, hardly mattered.

“You hurt for him,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Hayward, his former star at Butler. “It’s a tough, tough deal, but I guess that’s part of the risk of injury. I really feel for him.”

James scored 29 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — in his most extensive action in three weeks because of a sprained left ankle. The superstar also fed Kevin Love for a critical 3-pointer with 46.3 seconds left to put the Cavs up 102-98.

Irving, who asked to be traded this summer after six seasons in Cleveland, had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer at the horn but his shot was short. As the crowd exhaled, Irving shared a warm handshake and embrace with James, his teammate for three seasons and the one he wanted to get away from by demanding a trade this summer.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 and Irving 22 and 10 assists for the Celtics, who overcame an 18-point deficit in the third and led with 2:04 left.

Hayward, who signed a four-year, $128 million free agent contract with the Celtics this summer, was bumped by James while trying to catch an alley-oop pass with 6:45 left in the first quarter. The forward’s leg got twisted underneath him as he came back to the floor and snapped his ankle grotesquely, his foot pointing awkwardly to one side.

The 27-year-old sat up, looked at his foot and yelled while some players covered their mouths and others turned their heads.

James said seeing Hayward get hurt reminded him of grisly injuries to Paul George, Shaun Livingston and Louisville’s Kevin Ware.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to Gordon’s family. Hope for a speedy recovery, a healthy recovery,” James said. “Those are the injuries that you never see coming, you never want to happen, no matter who it is, no matter what the stature, no matter how much competitive nature that you have. It’s just very unfortunate.”

Hayward’s injury changed the tenor of the highly anticipated matchup, and will alter the direction of Boston’s season. Hayward will require surgery and need months to recover. Stevens said Hayward will be taken directly to the hospital in Boston once the Celtics’ plane lands

The Celtics were understandably shaken at halftime, and went to the locker room down 16.

However, they battled back and were still leading 98-97 when James, who only played in one exhibition after spraining his ankle on Sept. 27, spun in the lane and made a layup to put Cleveland up by one. On Boston’s next possession, James cut off Marcus Smart and deflected the ball off the guard’s leg and out of bounds.

James then made a crosscourt pass to a wide-open Love, who drained his 3 to give the Cavs a four-point cushion.

“I just found a familiar face and Kevin was in the right place at the right time,” James said.

Irving’s free throw made it 102-99, and the Celtics had two late chances but both Brown and Irving missed late 3s.

Love had 15 and Derrick Rose 14 in his debut for the Cavs, who are trying to blend new faces and big egos quickly.

“We’ve got some things we need to figure out,” James said. “It’s a work in progress, for sure.”

After the final horn, James and Irving, who spent part of the summer making subtle jabs at each other following the blockbuster trade, completed their signature handshake and the All-Star point guard greeted several former teammates.

He may still have a ways to go with Cleveland’s crowd, which booed him every time he touched the ball.

Irving heard it from the moment he took the floor as Cleveland fans got their first chance to voice their displeasure toward him for demanding to be traded this summer despite three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and one title.

“It’s a really hard game for a guy to play, especially the first game of the season with all the emotion you have to go through,” Stevens said. “How he can play at that level is beyond me.”

PEP TALK

At halftime, Stevens tried to calm his players.

“I don’t have any magic words for that,” he said. “We’re all feeling for him. I’m not going to try to take the human element out of it.”

NEW GUYS

In his Cleveland debut, Dwyane Wade scored eight points on 3 of 10 shooting in 28 minutes.

Boston rookie Jayson Tatum had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Stevens has been impressed with Irving’s basketball acumen and how quickly he has picked up Boston’s system. “He’s spent a lot of time watching film, a lot of extra time talking about it. He has good insights,” Stevens said. “Guys like that can fit in anywhere. It’s about how do we all put our strengths together.” ... Marcus Morris (sore right knee) took part in pregame drills but is out for a week or more.

Cavaliers: James (28,816) passed numerous Hall of Famers while jumping to No. 7 on the career scoring list last season. He came in nearly 1,500 points behind Dirk Nowitzki at No. 6. ... Although it may take some time for the Cavs to find their on-court chemistry, coach Tyronn Lue said that doesn’t change his early expectations. “We still expect to win,” he said. “We still expect to play hard and play the right way.”

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Cavaliers: At Milwaukee on Friday.

___

More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Cavs, Celtics aim to put pieces together following trade

As the dust begins to settle from Tuesday's blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick to Cleveland, the larger picture for both teams starts to come into focus.

The breakup of the partnership of Irving and LeBron James seemed inevitable after the former said he wanted to be traded. James offered nothing but respect to Irving in his Twitter message in response to the trade:

"That's the only way to be to the kid! Special talent/guy! Nothing but respect and what a ride it was our 3 years together."

James will now try to blend his skills with Thomas, a point guard who likes to have the ball in his hands.

The question surrounding Thomas concerns his hip. Thomas' season ended following Game 2 of the conference finals because of a torn labrum and aggravation of a previous injury.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge speculated on a conference call on Tuesday that Thomas might not be ready for the start of the regular season.

The Cavaliers have Derrick Rose to be the point guard if Thomas is unable to play, but what will Rose's role be when Thomas returns?

The bigger questions rest with the Celtics.

Perhaps the most significant factor of the entire ordeal is that Boston now has just four players left from a team that surpassed expectations to finish first in the Eastern Conference.

Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier return from the squad that lost to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals, and coach Brad Stevens will try to integrate Irving, Gordon Hayward and rookie Jayson Tatum with them.

Tatum, the No. 3 pick in this year's draft, is no small player in the transaction.

According to multiple reports, the Irving-Thomas deal was able to go forward only when the Cavaliers gave up their attempt to have Tatum included in the deal.

Tatum seemed pleased he was staying in Boston.

"I was watching (the trade news) on TV and I saw breaking news come across, so it was just as much of a shock to me as all the other fans," Tatum said, according to ESPN.com. "I was just as surprised as everyone else (about the trade). I saw my name come up, and I didn't know if I was going to get traded. ... It's all new to me. I haven't played an NBA game yet; I just came from college. I don't know how to handle all the trade talks. I was just like, 'Wow,' saw my name come up."

After he was told that he would not be moved, Tatum said he received a text from Irving saying how excited he was to be teaming up with him. A few weeks ago, Tatum and Irving, who have the same agent, went to the Bahamas for a vacation.

"I'm pretty sure it will be a lot of fun," Tatum said of playing with Irving. "He's a tremendous player. A superstar in this league."

Before trading Irving to Boston, the Cavaliers offered Irving to the Golden State Warriors for guard Klay Thompson, according to multiple reports.

The Warriors turned them down. But the Celtics didn't, and the Cavaliers' acquisition of Crowder, a solid wing player, may turn out to be important as well. That does not even consider the draft pick Cleveland obtained, which could turn out to be the No. 1 overall choice.

Making this trade may give James some faith in new Cleveland general manager Koby Altman.

Everything the Cavaliers do this season will be viewed in terms of how it might affect James' decision to stay or leave via free agency next summer.

"It's great if they win, terrible if they lose," a source close to James, referring to the Irving trade, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

If the Cavaliers reach the finals again and are competitive once they get there, James may consider staying.

Cavs trade G Irving to Celtics for G Thomas, first-round pick

The Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to trade All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in exchange for a package led by fellow All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas on Tuesday.

The teams confirmed the Celtics also sent forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and the rights to the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first round pick to the Cavaliers.

"Kyrie is one of the best scorers in the NBA," Celtics president Danny Ainge said in a prepared statement. "He has proven that on the biggest stage, the NBA Finals, the last three years. He's been an NBA Champion, an Olympic Gold Medalist, and a four-time All-Star. For all he's accomplished, we think his best years are ahead of him."

Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman said in a statement, "This trade needed to include both players and assets that we felt strongly could help us continue to compete for championships, and we believe it does. We look forward to Isaiah, Jae and Ante joining us and also felt that the unprotected first-round pick in the deal was very important for us and our future as well."

Irving, who made headlines earlier in the summer when it leaked that he had requested a trade, moves on from a Cavaliers squad that reached the NBA Finals in each of the past three seasons and won a championship in 2016.

"On behalf of the entire franchise, I want to thank Kyrie Irving for the six impressive years he spent in Cleveland wearing the Cavaliers uniform," Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said in a statement. "From the moment we won the 2011 NBA lottery that put us in position to draft Kyrie to the 'The Shot' that sealed our first NBA championship and all of the electrifying play that made him a joy to watch, 'excitement' was always in the air when it came to Kyrie Irving. We wish him and his family well as he moves on to the next phase of his NBA career."

Irving joins a Celtics squad that finished first in the Eastern Conference during the regular season last season but was bounced by the Cavaliers in five games the Eastern Conference finals. Thomas missed the last three games of the series with a hip injury, and he might not be ready for the start of training camp.

"Isaiah and Jae have been a huge part of our success," Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said in a statement. "Isaiah's playoff performance under very difficult circumstances will live on in history, and we wish them all the best."

Irving, 25, averaged a career-high 25.2 points on 47.3 percent shooting and 5.8 assists last season. He has three years and $60 million remaining on his contract.

Thomas, a 28-year-old who finished third in the NBA with an average of 28.9 points in 2016-17, will be a free agent after the 2017-18 campaign.

Irving was the first overall pick in the 2011 draft while Thomas was the last pick, 60th, in the same draft.

"Isaiah embodied what it meant to be a Celtic," Ainge said. "He captured fans' hearts not only with his spirit, but his personality. Jae's toughness was contagious for our team. He improved his skills each year, but it's his energy and fight that will be remembered. We wish them and their families the very best."

The Celtics and Cavaliers open the season in Cleveland on Oct. 17.

Recap: Lakers ride Ball's triple-double past Cavs

Joel Bartilotta, RotoWire

Lonzo Ball posted a triple-double to lead the No. 15-seed Los Angeles Lakers to a wire-to-wire upset of the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 94-83 in the second round of the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs at Thomas and Mack Center on Thursday.

Ball, the second overall pick in this year's draft, totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his second triple-double in Las Vegas. He also had five steals, but shot just 6-of-20 from the field, including 2-of-10 from 3-point range.

The Lakers (3-2) took a 10-point lead, 29-19, at the end of the first quarter, but the Cavs (3-1) made it a close game the rest of the way. They tied it for the final time, 66-66, with 2:57 to play in the third quarter, but could never pull ahead. 

Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 20 points, and Vander Blue added 18. Ivica Zubac finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Kay Felder scored a game-high 25 points for the Cavaliers. He also had four steals. Casey Prather and T.J. Williams scored 10 points each, and Sir' Dominic Pointer led the bench with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The Lakers play the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Cavs reportedly sign Green

Jeff Green is headed to Cleveland to bolster the Cavaliers' bench.

The 30-year-old veteran forward is joining the defending Eastern Conference champions on a one-year, $2.3 million deal, according to ESPN.

Green had "active conversations" with Cavaliers star LeBron James before making his decision to sign with the team, per ESPN.

The minimum-level deal will cost the Cavaliers roughly $8 million in salary and tax for next season. Cleveland's current payroll for the 2017-18 season is $135 million with $46 million in tax.

Green averaged a career-low 9.2 points on 39.4 percent shooting and 3.1 rebounds in 69 games with the Orlando Magic last season.

Before joining the Magic, Green played eight seasons between the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers.

The former No. 5 overall draft pick in 2007 has career averages of 13.5 points and 4.7 boards over 705 games.

2 out of 3 ain't bad: Warriors top Cavs for another title

(TSX / STATS) -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- After the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers traded championships in 2015 and 2016, they could never agree on one key thing.

Who was the better team?

The third time around, there was no doubt.

The Warriors used a 28-4 flurry in the second quarter to take a lead they never relinquished, then relied on the scoring of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry down the stretch to hold off the Cavaliers en route to a 129-120 victory Monday night, claiming their second NBA championship in seasons.

Durant, the MVP of the Finals, had 39 points, and Curry added 34 for the Warriors, who captured the best-of-seven series 4-1 against the defending champions.

"We did it together," said Durant, a first-time champion. "Call us a super team, but it's been a lot of super teams that hasn't worked. We came together and we continued to just believe in each other and we sacrificed, and we're champions now."

Golden State completed an unprecedented 16-1 run through the NBA playoffs, registering the second-best average playoff point differential (plus-13.5) in league history.

Completing a perfect 9-0 run at home during the postseason, the Warriors became the first San Francisco Bay Area team to win a championship at home since the Oakland Athletics won the 1974 World Series.

"This is history," Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said. "We're going down as one of the best teams ever, and that's a special thing you cannot take away from us."

Led by LeBron James' game-high 41 points, the Cavaliers hung within 108-102 with 8:29 to play on a 3-pointer by Kyle Korver.

However, Iguodala assisted a Durant dunk and added one of his own off a Curry feed, reopening a double-digit lead and making the final 7:42 an extended celebration among the Oracle Arena fans.

"Golden State (was) the best team this year," James said. "They showcased that throughout the postseason, and we were another opponent in their way.

"We left everything on the floor, and it still wasn't enough."

Durant shot 14 of 20 overall and 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, hitting three of his threes during the critical second-quarter run that lasted more than seven minutes and turned a 41-33 deficit into a 61-45 advantage.

Curry shot 10 of 20, converted 12 of his 15 free throw attempts, found time for six rebounds and completed a double-double with a game-high 10 assists.

When the game became two-on-two, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue observed, his team had little chance.

"They started to go with the pick-and-roll with Steph Curry and Durant, which might be one of the most unstoppable pick-and-rolls in our league," Lue said. "And they waited until late to do it. That's a tough play to stop."

The Warriors, who were playing a Game 5 for the first time in the postseason, shot 51.1 percent from the field and 36.8 percent on 3-pointers.

Iguodala chipped in with 20 points off the bench and Draymond Green had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who topped 100 points for the 17th straight time in the playoffs.

"There was never any question in my mind that this was going to work," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the addition of Durant to a Curry-led core that already was good enough to make consecutive Finals. "This was the culmination of a year where (Durant and Curry) grew together and learned each other's games and got better and better all year. It was phenomenal to be a part of."

James collected a game-high 13 rebounds, eight assists and two steals to go with his 41 points in becoming the first player ever to average a triple-double in the Finals.

"I have no reason to put my head down," said James, who finished with averages of 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists in the five-game series. "I have no reason to look back at what I could have done or what I shouldn't have done or what I could have done better for the team. I left everything I had out on the floor every single game for five games in this Finals, and you come up short."

Kyrie Irving, fighting through back tightness late in the game, had 26 points and J.R. Smith 25 for the Cavaliers, who, like the Warriors, were competing in their third straight Finals.

The Cavaliers shot 53.4 percent from the field and 45.8 percent on 3-pointers, but were outrebounded 42-40 and outscored 23-15 at the free-throw line.

"A lot of guys cried because they wanted it bad," Lue reported of the postgame scene in the Cleveland locker room. "That's all you can ask."

NOTES: The Warriors' .941 winning percentage in the playoffs (16-1) bettered the previous mark of .938 established by the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers, who went 15-1. ... The highest average point differential in NBA playoff history remains plus-14.5, set by the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks. ... The championship was the 17th won by a San Francisco Bay Area franchise in baseball, basketball or football. The Warriors have three, trailing the San Francisco 49ers (five) and Oakland Athletics (four). ... Cavaliers SF LeBron James played in his 217th career postseason game, moving past C Shaquille O'Neal for seventh place on the all-time list.

Cavs cling to life with record-setting effort vs. Warriors

(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- A chance at perfection ended, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in the same spot in the NBA Finals as they were at this time a year ago.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Warriors 137-116 in Game 4 of the Finals on Friday night to avoid elimination. Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 40 points and LeBron James broke all kinds of records as he posted a triple-double.

The loss ended the Warriors' bid for a perfect 16-0 run through the playoffs, which had never been done. Golden State leads 3-1 in the series as it shifts back to Oakland, Calif., for Game 5 on Monday night.

"The magnitude of the games, especially the last game, it hit me in a very deep place," said Irving, who made 15 of 27 shots from the floor and drained seven 3-pointers -- tied for second most in a Finals game. "Glad that we got the monkey off our back in terms of just getting one win in this series in terms of going against this great team."

Golden State whiffed at its chance to pop champagne in Cleveland's visiting locker room for the second time in three seasons -- something the Warriors openly discussed as a goal: celebrating at The Q.

"I didn't hear it, but some of the other guys heard it and told me that that they wanted to celebrate on our floor once again and they wanted to spray champagne in our locker rooms, and I think it came from Draymond (Green), which is OK, that's Dray anyway," James said. "So I just told guys, I didn't stress anything besides just live in the moment. Live in the moment."

The Cavs set Finals records with 86 points in the first half, 49 in the first quarter, and 3-pointers in a game (24). James finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double, passing Magic Johnson for first place in Finals history.

Kevin Love added 23 points for Cleveland and J.R. Smith finished with 15 points.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 35 points. Green added 16 points and 14 rebounds and Stephen Curry was 4 of 13 for 14 points.

"Just one of those games," Curry said. "Not going to overreact to one."

The Cavs became the first team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals last season. No team has come back from 3-0 in the playoffs.

"Believeland is not going to give up and we're going to keep fighting," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "We're going to keep scrapping."

The Warriors still have ample chances to win their second title in three seasons over the Cavs, something they failed to do last season.

"Different team, man, different team," Curry said. "Obviously, we haven't felt this feeling walking off the court with a loss in a while, but we have done a good job bouncing back and being resilient all year."

The third quarter was easily the most chaotic of the Finals. It started with 6:18 left in the quarter when Green appeared to pick up his second technical.

Instead of an automatic ejection, however, Green stayed in the game because officials insisted the first technical given to him -- with 1:55 left in the first quarter -- was actually assessed to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

And with 1:10 left in the quarter, Zaza Pachulia and Kyle Korver were tied up on a loose ball. In the scrum, Pachulia appeared to kick Iman Shumpert -- who was standing over him -- once and punch him twice. Instead of an ejection for Pachulia, however, he and Shumpert were slapped with technicals.

The quarter closed with a 3-ball from Curry with 12 seconds to go, answered by one from James with 2.7 seconds remaining. The Cavs led 115-96.

Cleveland led 86-68 at halftime and were up by as many as 22. The 86 points were the most in a half in NBA Finals history.

A Durant 3-pointer at the buzzer brought the Warriors a little closer. Irving was up to 28 points and James had already registered 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The Cavs made 13 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers set a Finals record with 49 points in the first quarter and led by 16 when it was over. James had two foul shots with 2.9 seconds left and missed one, otherwise Cleveland would've hung 50 on the Warriors.

Four players -- Green, Klay Thompson, Curry and Andre Iguodala -- were whistled for two fouls in the first quarter. The Cavs took 22 free throws in the quarter but only made 14. They were 17-of-26 from the line at halftime.

"That was pretty much the factor (the fouls) in that first quarter," Curry said. "The aggressor usually gets the whistle and they were the aggressor."

NOTES: LeBron James said his mother, Gloria, did not want him to return to Cleveland and play for the Cavaliers in 2014, according to cleveland.com. James made the disclosure in a production for his online platform for athletes, Uninterrupted, in which he, Warriors star F Draymond Green, rapper 2 Chainz, and James' inner circle sat around at a barbershop during All-Star weekend in New Orleans. James said his mom didn't want him to leave the Miami Heat for the Cavs because of the letter Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert wrote to fans the night James bolted for the Heat in 2010. ... James passed Michael Jordan for third place in NBA Finals scoring history with his first basket and for first in free throws in the Finals. Jordan scored 1,176 points and connected on 1,463 free throws in six Finals. ... When the Warriors received 31 points from Kevin Durant and 30 from Klay Thompson in Game 3, it was the first time a team had two players score 30 points in consecutive Finals games since Elgin Baylor and Jerry West did it with the Los Angeles Lakers in Games 6 and 7 of the 1962 Finals.

Warriors look to finish off sweep of Cavaliers

Stats, LLC

(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- One team is trying to make history, the other desperately hoping to avoid a repeat of it.

The Golden State Warriors hold a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the Cleveland Cavaliers and can finish the sweep for their second title in three seasons with a win in Game 4 on Friday night.

The Warriors aren't just looking for another championship. They've won 15 straight playoff games, and can become the first team in NBA history to navigate the playoffs without a loss.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were swept out of the Finals 10 years ago this month. It was LeBron James' first Finals, and his team was sawed in half by the San Antonio Spurs, who were in the midst of a streak of three titles in six seasons.

Seven Finals and three championships later, James is facing the same fate.

"I think it's just part of my calling to just go against teams in the midst of a dynasty," James said on Thursday. "This has been the best team in our league the last three years. They won a championship, and last year it was the greatest regular-season team we had played, probably one of the best postseason teams that everybody's ever seen as well, but we were just able to overcome that. And they're playing like one of the best teams once again."

James, who is averaging a triple-double in the 2017 Finals (32 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists), and the Cavs edged the Warriors in Game 7 last year after falling behind 3-1, becoming the first team to ever overcome such a deficit in the Finals. No NBA team has ever recovered from a 3-0 hole in the playoffs.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played for a couple dynasties himself with the Chicago Bulls and Spurs, was on the 72-win Chicago team in 1996 that built a 3-0 lead over the Seattle SuperSonics in the Finals. Seattle took the next two games before losing in Game 6.

"In the end you just want to win," Kerr said. "The other stuff doesn't really matter. People can talk about it in historical context, but you just get it done, win the series and let everybody else talk."

The Warriors have been led in the Finals by Kevin Durant, the ground-shaking free-agent acquisition from last season who was the 2014 MVP and has perhaps reshaped the Golden State-Cleveland rivalry forever.

Durant lost to James and the Miami Heat when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 Finals, and didn't make it back until this year.

Durant is averaging 34 points in this series and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 -- a 118-113 win for the Warriors in which they trailed by six with three minutes left. He has also taken pressure off of Stephen Curry, who struggled in the first two Finals series against Cleveland but has been brilliant this time around.

The Warriors signed Durant to a two-year, $55 million deal, and before the ink was dry they were an immediate favorite to beat the Cavs in the Finals. Now, there's one more win to come before the prophecy comes true.

"I didn't envision anything but just being around good people and getting better every single day," Durant said. "That's exactly what happened throughout the season. I didn't talk to these guys when I made my decision and say we better make it to The Finals and be up in the series around this time, this exact date, or I'm not coming.

"I mean, it was just let's just have some fun playing ball, let's just all get better and let's see what happens."

The Warriors popped champagne inside the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena in 2015, having clinched the series in six games. The Cavs could at least momentarily stall Golden State's momentum, and keep their visitors' locker room dry, by breaking up the Warriors' perfect playoffs with a win Friday.

But after a draining loss to the Warriors in Game 3, the Cavs will have to guard against a letdown, not to mention Golden State's vaunted lineup that was built to dominate for years.

"We'll see what happens," James said. "Obviously you never know what's going to happen, but as it stands right now, they look pretty good, as far as the future."

Durant-led rally brings Warriors to brink of history

(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- The Golden State Warriors are one win from a sweep, from revenge, from history.

Kevin Durant, the difference in the 2017 NBA Finals, led the Warriors with 31 points, and Golden State mounted a furious comeback to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-113 in Game 3.

The Warriors, down by six with less than two minutes remaining, scored the game's final 11 points.

Up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Warriors can win their second title in three seasons and become the first team in NBA history to go through the playoffs without a loss with a win in Game 4 on Friday night in Cleveland.

Golden State is now 15-0 this postseason. That is the longest winning streak in the playoffs in any major North American professional sport.

"It's not done," Durant said. "Closeout game is always the toughest. We have to be even better in Game 4 if we want to take this. It's an exciting time, but we still have a lot of work to do."

LeBron James scored 39 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out nine assists for Cleveland. Kyrie Irving added 38 for the Cavs, who went scoreless over the game's final 3:09.

Durant, meanwhile, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 45.3 seconds left for a 114-113 advantage.

"Even when you're playing well, you got to play like A-plus-plus, because they're going to make runs and they're going to make shots and they got guys that's going to make plays," James said. "So we made enough plays tonight to still win the ballgame, but they made a couple more."

Klay Thompson had 30 points for the Warriors and Stephen Curry finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds. After committing 20 turnovers in Game 2, Golden State was again careless with the ball (18 turnovers for 22 Cleveland points).

And, again, it didn't matter.

After J.R. Smith drained a 3-pointer with 3:09 left for a 113-107 advantage, the Cavs missed eight shots. Kevin Love missed a layup, James a turnaround jumper, and Kyle Korver an open 3-point try in the corner.

"Obviously K.D. made some huge plays down the stretch," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I thought Klay's defense on Kyrie was amazing. Overall, it was just an incredibly tough, resilient performance. It wasn't our smartest game that we have played all year, but it was maybe our toughest in terms of our ability to just hang in there.

"And nothing was really going our way, but we were still there. And we just had to kind of stay with it, and I thought our guys did a really good job of that."

Smith recovered from a poor first two games to score 16 for the Cavs. Love added nine points, 13 rebounds and six steals.

Last year, the Cavs recovered from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Warriors in seven games. The year before, Golden State fell behind 2-1 in the series but closed out a title in Game 6 in Cleveland.

After the comeback win Wednesday in a game in which they faced their toughest test, the Warriors hope to be popping champagne again at Quicken Loans Arena.

"It sets us up for hopefully a great night on Friday," Curry said.

The Warriors entered play as the best team in the NBA in the third quarter, and they outscored the Cavs by 24 in the third quarters of the first two games. Not this time. Irving erupted for 16 points in the period, and the Cavs held a 94-89 edge heading into the fourth.

It was Cleveland's first lead at the end of any quarter in this series. Love's 3-pointer at 8:59 gave the Cavs their first advantage at any point after the first quarter in this series, and Cleveland's 94-87 lead toward the end of the period was its largest of the series.

The Warriors closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run and led 39-32. They set an NBA record with nine 3-pointers in the period. Thompson was scorching with 16 points, while James countered with 16 for the Cavs.

With about six minutes left in the opening quarter, James was caught flush in the jaw by an inadvertent shoulder from teammate Tristan Thompson. James was rushing to the perimeter on defense, and Thompson moved back and the two collided, laying James out on the court. James remained in the game, and after the timeout scored on a drive to the hoop.

When the first half was over, James had 27 points and the Warriors had committed 12 turnovers, and yet Golden State still led 67-61. Irving drove the length of the floor and lobbed one high off the glass for a layup at the buzzer to get the Cavs to within six.

NOTES: Cavaliers F LeBron James passed Sam Jones (1,143 points), Bill Russell (1,151), and Elgin Baylor (1,161) for fourth place on the NBA Finals all-time scoring list in the first half. He passed Russell (315 assists) for third all time in Finals assists, too. ... The previous longest postseason winning streak in major North American sports was 14 games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 and '93. ... Country music stars and Columbus, Ohio, natives Rascal Flatts sang the national anthem. ... Urban Meyer, Ohio State football coach and friend of James, and PGA Tour star Bubba Watson were among the celebrities on hand. ... The last time the Warriors lost with F Kevin Durant healthy was Feb. 13 in Denver, prior to the All-Star break. ... According to Forbes Magazine, James is the second-highest paid athlete in the world in 2017, with salary and endorsements totaling $86.2 million. Golden State F Kevin Durant is fifth on that list at $60.6 million, and Warriors G Stephen Curry is eighth at $47.3 million.

Warriors-Cavaliers Preview

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CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in the same place through two games in the NBA Finals they were at this point last season.

Blown out in Games 1 and 2 by the Golden State Warriors, looking for something to change in the first home game before the series is over for all intents and purposes.

Things turned out OK for the Cavs in 2016. They won Game 3 by 30 points and eventually became the first team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals.

"You understand the journey and how much of the energy it took from a mental and physical standpoint in order to come back from something like that," said Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving. "But you know it's definitely possible."

The Warriors have outscored Cleveland by 41 points through two games. They've blown the doors off of LeBron James and company in both games in the third quarters, outscoring the Cavs by 13 points in Game 1 and 11 on Sunday.

Kevin Durant wasn't wearing a Golden State jersey while his current teammates collapsed in last year's Finals. He has scored 71 points through two games. Harrison Barnes, the player Durant replaced in the Warriors' lineup, scored 65 for the whole series.

Durant is a former MVP in the prime of his career who was added to a roster that won an NBA-record 73 games last season before the stunning Finals defeat. He is partnered with Stephen Curry, a two-time MVP who has scored 60 points through two games and is coming off a triple-double in Game 2.

And the Warriors point to Game 3 as the initial turning point.

"I think it was the nature with which they won that game, the force that they brought," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "They blew us out. I don't remember what the final score was, but it wasn't close. And I thought that gave them confidence, gave their crowd confidence.

"We came back and won Game 4 in a great effort and had them right where we wanted them, but I think Game 3 gave them that confidence, and obviously everything changed in Game 5."

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he is sticking with shooting guard J.R. Smith in the starting lineup despite his struggles. Smith has scored just three points in two games on 1-of-6 shooting.

Then again, Smith was scuffling through the first two games of last season's Finals and came back with 20 points in Game 3.

"I have the same confidence level I've had since I started playing this game," Smith said. "I feel like I can make any and every shot. I feel like I'm going to -- feel like I'm going to play well every time I step on the floor. Obviously that doesn't happen every time.

"My confidence has never dwindled, lacked, chipped, nothing. I feel like when I'm on the floor, I mean obviously Bron is Bron, but I feel like I'm one of the best players on the floor."

James is averaging a triple-double through two games, with 28.5 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Twice during his career he has led the Cavs back from an 0-2 deficit in a playoff series -- in the 2007 Eastern finals against Detroit and of course last season.

James, who actually ended his protest of NBA podium interviews after Tuesday's practice by again taking reporters' questions on stage, said losses take "a mental toll."

"It's something I am accustomed to," James said. "It's something that I feel like is -- that it's OK for me to kind of always go back and know that I can refocus. I can get my guys ready, get myself ready. But you hate to continue to put yourself in these positions."

The Warriors are 14-0 to start the postseason. They're the first NBA team to ever do it. With a win in Game 3 they would pass the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the most consecutive playoff wins by any major professional sports team.

For what it's worth, no team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. The Warriors are two wins from sweeping all four rounds, including the last one, against the defending champs.

"We want 15-0," Kerr said. "That's what we want. Are we 14-0 right now? We want 15-0. That's what we want. We literally have never once mentioned 16-0. To me it's a miracle that it's even a possibility. It's so hard to do.

"But we are here, we're more focused on what happened last year like in terms of we were up 2-0 and we came here and the series shifted. That's the important lesson, not any historical benchmarks or anything like that."

Curry's triple-double leads Warriors to Game 2 rout

(TSX / STATS) -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers hoped Game 2 of the NBA Finals wouldn't look at all like Game 1.

And it didn't.

Except on the scoreboard.

Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry buried 3-pointers in a 13-point, five-possession flurry early in the fourth quarter Sunday night, and the Golden State Warriors pulled away from the Cavaliers en route to a 132-113 victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Curry recorded his first career postseason triple-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, helping Golden State, which won Game 1 by 22 points, take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

It is the first time in NBA Finals history that a team won each of the first two games by at least 19 points.

"A lot of positives," Curry said. "A total team effort tonight with how we played and withstood their first punch coming out."

The Finals shift to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.

"They play well at home," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said of the Warriors. "They won their first two games like they're supposed to. We get a chance to go home now to our home crowd, where we play well also. We got to go home and regroup."

Golden State's NBA-record-breaking 14th consecutive postseason win came in Steve Kerr's return to the Warriors' bench after the coach missed the previous 11 games while dealing the spinal-fluid issues.

LeBron James had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in defeat, the eighth postseason triple-double of his career, equaling Magic Johnson's all-time record.

"What was the difference?" James said, repeating a question he was asked regarding last year's two consecutive wins in Oakland compared to two straight losses this week. "They're a different team."

After watching the Warriors use a 13-2 run to help build a 102-88 lead by the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers retained hope when they held Golden State to just one field goal in the first 2:08 of the fourth quarter.

A 3-pointer by Kyrie Irving kept the Cavaliers within 108-97 with 8:41 to go before Thompson, who shot 3-for-16 in Game 1, ignited the game-breaking run with a 3-pointer.

Thompson followed by converting an inbounds play into a hoop, and Durant scored on a drive. Durant and Curry then knocked down 3-pointers 23 seconds apart to balloon the lead to 121-99 and render most of the final 6:18 as garbage time.

"The biggest thing for us is our defense has been amazing," Curry said. "Playing with a lot of energy. Playing smart. Trying to make them work for everything that they get."

Durant led the Warriors with 33 points and 13 rebounds, and he hit four of his eight 3-point attempts.

Three days after lamenting 42.5 percent shooting and 21 misses in 33 3-point attempts, Golden State shot 18-for-43 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range, outscoring the Cavaliers 54-24 from beyond the arc.

Curry and Thompson, who finished with 22 points, also connected on four 3-pointers apiece for Golden State, which shot 51.7 percent overall.

"Klay played so well in Game 1, without shooting well, and to me that usually indicates that the ball's going to go in," Kerr said of Thompson. "I just felt like he was poised to come out and make some shots tonight. I thought he was fantastic."

The Warriors won despite committing 20 turnovers, a stat that caught Kerr's eye.

"Tonight was a game based on talent. We had a lot of guys who played exceptionally well individually," Kerr said. "But heading to Cleveland, we're going to have to be a lot smarter. We play that same game in Cleveland, there's no way we win."

James' points came on 12-for-18 shooting for the Cavaliers, who shot 45 percent from the field but just 27.6 percent (8-for-29) from 3-point range.

The Warriors blocked seven shots, including five by Durant, who became just the third player since 1984 to have a 30-point, 10-rebound, five-block game in the NBA Finals.

"His defense was amazing, and we needed (it)," Kerr said of Durant, whose feat matched that of Hakeem Olajuwon in 1986 and Tim Duncan in 2003. "It was probably the key to the whole game."

Kevin Love had 27 points and Irving 19 on 8-for-23 shooting for Cleveland, which committed just nine turnovers one game after giving the ball away 20 times in the opener.

"We ride or die with Kyrie," Love said. "Kyrie knows what he's capable of. So I would imagine Kyrie's going to come out and have a great Game 3."

After trailing by just three at halftime, the Cavaliers were still down just 86-82 after a layup by Irving with 5:41 left in the third period.

Cleveland then missed nine of its next 10 shots, and by the time Love converted an interior hoop with 54 seconds remaining in the period, the Warriors had built a 99-84 advantage.

NOTES: Warriors coach Steve Kerr hadn't been on the bench since Game 2 of the Warriors' first-round sweep over the Portland Trail Blazers. He said before the game: "The intention is to coach tonight and the rest of the series." ... The game was the first in NBA Finals history in which two players -- Warriors PG Stephen Curry and Cavaliers SF LeBron James -- recorded triple-doubles. ... The Warriors' 132 points were the most in an NBA Finals game since the Los Angeles Lakers scored 141 in Game 2 of the 1987 Finals. ... The Warriors' 18 3-pointers were an NBA Finals record, topping the 17 they recorded in Game 4 of last year's Finals. ... Golden State G Klay Thompson played in his 78th career playoff game, breaking a tie with SG Jeff Mullins for the most in franchise history. ... The Cavaliers wore their sleeved black jerseys for the first time since Games 5 and 7 of last year's Finals, a pair of games they won in Oakland. ... Before the game, the National Basketball Coaches Association presented its annual Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award to co-winners Al Attles, who led the Warriors to their first West Coast championship in 1975, and Hubie Brown, a Hall of Fame honoree in 2005.