CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James considered swigging a beer while scoring 35 points, Kyrie Irving added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up where they left off following a long layoff and throttled the Toronto Raptors 116-105 on Monday night in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal.
The Cavs hadn't played since April 23, when they completed a four-game sweep of Indiana. But the defending champions didn't show signs of rust and were well-prepared to face the revenge-seeking Raptors, who lost to Cleveland in last year's conference finals.
Toronto dropped to 1-12 in playoff openers. Game 2 is Wednesday night.
Kyle Lowry scored 20 and DeMar DeRozan 19 for the Raptors, who were within seven in the third quarter before James dropped a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play, drained another 3 and then considered washing down a brew.
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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