CAVALIERS 106, BULLS 91
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James attacked from the start and scored 33 points, Kyrie Irving added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers evened their semifinal series with Chicago with a 106-91 victory over the Bulls in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Donning his signature headband for the first time in two months and powering to the basket, James kept the Cavs from falling into a 2-0 hole. He added eight rebounds and five assists for Cleveland, which led by 25 in the third quarter and withstood a third-quarter charge by the Bulls.
For the second consecutive game, the Cavs were without forward Kevin Love (shoulder surgery) and J.R. Smith (two-game suspension). But they had James and he was more like himself after a sub-par performance in the opener.
"We're a little banged up, we're short-handed, so I have to be aggressive," James said. "Even more aggressive than my usual self, and I was happy I was able to make a couple of plays to help our team win tonight."
Jimmy Butler scored 18 and Derrick Rose had 14 points and 10 assists for the Bulls, who host Game 3 on Friday night. Pau Gasol added 11 points -- 10 fewer than Game 1, when he destroyed the Cavs on uncontested jumpers.
Iman Shumpert added 15 points, James Jones made 5 three-pointers and Tristan Thompson added 12 rebounds for Cleveland. Thompson started at power forward in Love's spot, allowing James to move back to his usual role at small forward. On the perimeter is where James is most dangerous and he made it clear from the outset that he wasn't going to stand around and wait for the game to come to him.
The Bulls used a 14-0 run to get within 11 in the third, but Jones hit consecutive threes and James scored twice near the basket to put Cleveland up by 16 going into the fourth.
James arrived at Quicken Loans Arena around 4 p.m., three hours before tip-off. As if there needed to be another sign of the game's importance to Cleveland this was it, as the superstar typically gets to the arena for a home game around 90 minutes before the start.
"Maybe he wanted to beat the traffic," quipped Cavs Coach David Blatt. "Knowing him, it was something else."
It sure was.
Back in his familiar headband after ditching it since March 7, and with an all-business look from the time he took the floor for warmups, James came out as aggressively as he promised.
He scored 14 points in the first quarter and got to the free-throw line five times, three more than in Monday's 99-92 loss. James, who went just 9 of 22 from the field in Game 1, set the tone and his teammates followed.
Cleveland shot 62 percent from the floor and built a 22-point lead in the first quarter on a three-pointer by Jones with 43 seconds left.
By then, the Q was roaring and the Bulls were in big trouble.
Love visited his teammates in the locker room before the game, and he joined them on the bench in the second quarter. Moments after Love, wearing a sling on his left arm, waved to the crowd, James delivered one of those plays only he can make. He burst down the left side of the lane and delivered a right-handed dunk over Butler, who did a marvelous job defending the four-time league MVP in Game 1.
But this wasn't the same James or the same Cavs.
ROCKETS 115, CLIPPERS 109
HOUSTON — James Harden scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Houston Rockets to a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers that evened their Western Conference semifinal at 1-1.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who bounced back from a 117-101 loss in the opener. Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles. Trevor Ariza added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 34 points, but had just eight after halftime as Houston keyed on him with All-Star point guard Chris Paul out with a hamstring injury.
Coach Doc Rivers said before the game that Paul is getting better but still isn’t “moving well.” Rivers isn’t sure if Paul will be ready for Game 3 but expects him to play at some point in this series.
TUESDAY’S LATE GAME
GRIZZLIES 97, WARRIORS 90
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The masked man came to the rescue for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mike Conley returned just eight days after having facial surgery to score 22 points, and the Grizzlies used a smothering defensive effort to beat the Golden State Warriors, evening the Western Conference semifinals 1-1.
"My eyesight was pretty good. I didn't have too many times where I felt like my vision was impaired by looking too fast or the mask getting in the way," Conley said. "It does get hot. I had to open it up a few times and let the sweat come down and let the steam out a little bit."
Wearing the clear mask to protect his swollen face and red left eye, Conley stole the spotlight from newly minted MVP Stephen Curry. He made his first four shots to get the Grizzlies going, and Memphis did the rest on defense.
Zach Randolph had 20 points and seven rebounds, and Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee scored 15 points each to help the Grizzlies end Golden State's 21-game home-winning streak. The Warriors dropped to 42-3 this season at rowdy Oracle Arena, losing for the first time at home in more than three months.
Game 3 is Saturday in Memphis.
"Tremendous heart," Grizzlies Coach Dave Joerger said of his point guard's effort. "He gave us an extra element."
Memphis rallied behind its banged-up floor leader, scoring the final nine points of the first half to take a 50-39 lead. It was only the second time this season the Warriors were held under 40 points in the first half.
When the Warriors started to rally in the fourth quarter, Conley came through again. He made a three-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 90-80 lead with 2:11 left, silencing the sea of golden yellow shirts for good.
Sports on 05/07/2015