Happy hour: LeBron scores 35, grabs beer as Cavs top Raptors

This was a fantastic start to the series for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It’s a different year”, said Lowry, who slouched back in his chair, arms crossed, holding the mic. The Raps have another gear in them, but they will need to do a lot more to shut down LeBron James while he’s rolling like this.

Can they do it again, or will Toronto cause them problems?

A similar thing happened past year when Jones was suspended for game four of the Eastern Conference Finals after hitting Raptors centre Bismack Biyombo in the groin.

The Raptors did their best to fight back in the final quarter, but the game remained a blowout until their reserves closed the gap in the last few minutes. “For us to have that, sustain that type of energy and be able to play nine, 10 guys, and everyone still be comfortable and everyone still be able to play no matter whose number is called, that’s the true growth of a team”.

“They’re a high-octane offensive team right now”, Dwane Casey said. They won their four games by margins of six, five, four, and one.

“The two-headed monster”, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said.

The Cavaliers, though, paid off only once against the Pacers, covering as a 1.5-point favorite in their 119-14 Game 3 road victory.

“It’s just another play in the books for me and Bron”, he said. “We have to find ways to eliminate the spurts”, Lowry said. But it wasn’t enough to keep up with the likes of James and Kyrie Irving, and even Kevin Love.

For the 12th time in 13 games as a franchise, and seventh in a row for this group, the Raptors backed into a series Monday night by putting themselves in a hole with another Game 1 effort that just seemed lacking. The Raptors still looked a step or two (or three, or four) behind – except when taking threes, where they managed to put a toe on the line multiple times.

“I don’t think the Cavs are going to make the Finals”. It’s just a weird thing.

“I told him tonight, ‘Now listen, Dahntay”.

Or in this case, all of Canada.

The Cavaliers collectively dished out 26 assists and only committed 12 turnovers on the night, eight of those miscues coming during the final quarter when the game was effectively decided. Thompson posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Something that could work in favour of Cleveland is the amount of isolation that Toronto plays. Toronto is more confident at home, but can’t afford to fall into a 2-0 deficit as it did against the Cavs last season.

Toronto has more options on the defensive end this time around. “His mid-range jumper is automatic and he can also get to the basket where he’s very athletic”. We’ve got to go out and make it happen. Consider that although he is 25th in career minutes, James is only 87th on the list of career regular-season games played.

Cavaliers: James needs 25 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762 points) for second place on the league’s postseason scoring list, and two 3-pointers to join Ray Allen, Reggie Miller and Manu Ginobili as the only players to connect on 300 postseason 3s.

It led to a quiet confidence heading into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) shoots over Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry (7) in the first half in Game 1 of a second-round NBA basketball playoff series, Monday, May 1, 2017, in Cleveland. At 32, James shows no signs of age or slowing down.

After LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Indiana Pacers last Sunday, they’ve had the past seven days to think and study about their next opponent.