NBA playoffs
James scores 36 points as Cavs take 2-0 lead over Nets CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James made sure nothing was stolen from home.
Cleveland’s All-Star scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half and the Cavaliers, drawing from tough lessons learned in last year’s playoffs, beat the New Jersey Nets 102-92 on Tuesday night to open a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
James added 12 assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored a career playoff-high 17 points for the Cavaliers, who later this week will head to New Jersey for Game 3 with a commanding lead in the best-of-seven series.
This is unfamiliar territory for Cleveland, which has never been up by two games in the semifinals. But with James around, anything could be possible for the Cavs, who have never been to the NBA finals.
“He made the plays to get us over the hump,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “He was the man. He said he wanted the ball, we gave him the ball and he made great, aggressive plays.”
The Nets had hoped to slip out of town with at least one win, and although they shot well enough (53 percent) to get it, they were outrebounded 49-32 and took 20 fewer shots than the Cavs, who also kept several possessions alive by outhustling New Jersey.
Vince Carter scored 26 points to lead the Nets, but for the second straight game he struggled from the floor. Carter was just 10-for-26 and missed two key shots in the final two minutes when New Jersey was still close.
Richard Jefferson scored 22 and Jason Kidd had 17 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and eight turnovers for the Nets, who managed just three offensive rebounds.
“We were in it, but we just didn’t execute at the end,” Jefferson said. “We didn’t hit shots.”
The Cavaliers improved to 6-0 in these playoffs and have now won 10 straight overall since their last loss on April 8. In last year’s semifinals, the Cavs dropped the first two games on the road at Detroit. They were humbling losses, blowouts by the Pistons that showed the Cavs the importance of home-court advantage.
This time around, on their own floor, the Cavaliers were a different team.
Although he said he was still battling a head cold, James didn’t seem to be troubled by anything. With his scoring high for this postseason, he has now scored at least 20 points in all 19 career playoff games, the second-longest streak to begin a career in NBA history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in his first 27 postseason games.
“It was a tug-of-war match for the first three quarters,” James said. “My teammates needed me to make plays and I did.”
And when James needed help scoring, rebounding and playing defense, his teammates were there for him.
James’ basket with 5:41 left put the Cavs ahead 89-85, and on Cleveland’s next trip, he whipped a pass in the lane to a cutting Drew Gooden, whose two-handed slam put the Cavaliers up by six. Gooden finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Carter, begging for the ball every time the Nets had it, was able to get the Nets within 93-89 on a bucket with 2:40 left. The Nets had a chance to cut it further, but Carter missed a tough fadeaway on the baseline and fell to the floor with a bad cramp as the Cavs pushed the ball up the floor.
Carter missed again with 1:43 left, and this time James made the Nets pay with a 15-footer to make it 96-89 with 1:19 left.
With 54 seconds left, Pavlovic missed a long jumper but was able to run down his rebound, yet another missed chance for the Nets.
“That’s what they do,” Jefferson said. “They are No. 1 in the league in second-chance points and we have to stop it. It’s not like they’re going to go from first to 29th. We have to adjust.”
Earlier in the period, Kidd’s fourth 3-pointer put the Nets ahead 81-78, but as was the case all night, James had an answer. He dropped a 3 of his own and then fed Hughes for a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 84-81 with 7:43 remaining.
Carter was stripped by Pavlovic on New Jersey’s next possession, and then fouled Cleveland’s guard on a drive. As Pavlovic was shooting free throws, Carter came over and apologized to Nets coach Lawrence Frank, saying, “My fault.”
Despite Carter’s awful first half (5 points on 2-of-10 shooting), the Nets were still within 48-45 at the break. Jefferson and Mikki Moore went a combined 9-for-9 and New Jersey shot 53 percent from the floor in the opening 24 minutes to keep the Nets within striking distance.
Notes: In their six playoff games, the Cavs have outrebounded their opponents by 13.5 per game. … NBA commissioner David Stern addressed a slew of topics with media members before the game. Among the weightier issues: the league’s global expansion and intent to develop an NBA-like league in China, playoff reseeding and the lack of superstars – except for James – left in the playoffs. … R&B star Usher, whose absence at games has led to speculation he was no longer a Cavs minority owner, sat courtside as did Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards and former NBA enforcer Charles Oakley. … Referee Michael Smith shook off an accidental elbow to the nose in the first quarter from Gooden.