{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Cleveland 125, Toronto 103
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #43 Dan Crawford, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 20562

CLEVELAND -- Anyone have any spare change? DeMar DeRozan will take it to pay someone to stop LeBron James.

And it's time to pay up.

James scorched Toronto for 39 points and became the NBA's second all-time leading scorer in the postseason in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 125-103 victory over the Raptors on Wednesday in Game 2 of this Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Cavs own a commanding 2-0 lead in this series with Game 3 in Toronto on Friday.

"You find somebody to stop LeBron in these moments, I'll give you $100," DeRozan said.

James destroyed the Raptors, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, 15-of-21 from the foul line and 4-of-6 from 3-point range in 37 minutes. In six games this postseason -- all wins for the Cavs, James is averaging 34.2 points on 56.6 percent shooting.

He scored 17 points in the third quarter, after which the Cavs led 99-73.

"I don't know, I'm just, I'm feeling pretty good," James said. "My teammates do a great job of putting me in position, my coaching staff do a great job of putting me in position to be successful. And, I put a lot of work in on my craft and I live with the results.

"Just blessed I'm able to make a few plays tonight to help us win another game."

James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762 points) for second place on a 3-pointer in the third quarter, with the rout in this lopsided series already underway. Michael Jordan is first with 5,987 playoff points.

James also became the fourth player in NBA history (Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Manu Ginobili) to make 300 playoff 3-pointers. And he has 89 playoff games with at least 30 points, which moved him past Kobe Bryant. Only Jordan (109) has more.

"You hear a name like Kareem, a guy who's done so many great things, not only as an individual but as a teammate, winning championships in the 80s and things of that nature and how many points he's put up -- he's somebody you read about," James said. "It was always my dream as a kid to be a part of this league and once I seen that gift, and once I seen I had mentors around me that was going to allow my gift to flourish, I didn't take it for granted. I still don't. Even at 32."

Kyrie Irving added 22 points and 11 assists for the Cavs, who have never lost a playoff series (13-0) in which they won the first two games. Cleveland also received 18 points from Channing Frye and 14 from Iman Shumpert off the bench.

The Raptors were led by Jonas Valanciunas' 23 points. Raptors coach Dwane Casey shifted Valanciunas and DeMarre Carroll to the bench and started Patrick Patterson and Norman Powell, looking for a spark that didn't come.

All-Star guard Kyle Lowry scored 20 points, but injured his left ankle with 11:33 left in the third quarter and was out of the game for good by the fourth.

DeRozan, the Raptors' leading scorer this season, was limited to just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.

"It sucks. To lose like we did. To play like I did. It sucks," DeRozan said. "It's frustrating. Now I just have the added time having to wait till Friday night to redeem myself."

The Cavs outscored the Raptors by 39 points from 3-point range, making 18 3s to Toronto's five. The Raptors are 1-6 all time in Game 2 of any playoff series on the road.

If there's a silver lining for Toronto right now, it's this: The Eastern finals between these teams last season also started with two lopsided Cavs wins, and the Raptors returned home to win games 3 and 4.

"The thing about it is we are in the same place we were last year," Casey said. "Until a team wins on another team's court, it's a series. We go back to Toronto. They have played well, we shake their hand. They shot great and LeBron shot 21 free throws... we shot 19 as a team. They played well but we haven't scratched the surface of where we can go. We take our butt whooping and head home."

NOTES: Cavs F LeBron James is not happy with a local brewer using his likeness to promote its beer. According to cleveland.com, James and his associates would even consider suing Great Lakes Brewing Co. for turning his swiping of a bottle of their beer from a vendor during Game 1 and pretending to take a swig into an advertisement. When James left the Cavs in 2010, Great Lakes brewed and sold a beer called "Quitness," and James hasn't forgotten. Also, a source close to him said it would cost a company $2 million, at minimum, for the cardboard cutout of James holding the beer it used in a Tweet Tuesday for a promotion. ... Cavs coach Tyronn Lue turned 40 on Wednesday. ... The Raptors' last win on the road in Game 2 of a playoff series was April 26, 2001, at New York during a first-round series. ... When Toronto coach Dwane Casey went to F Norman Powell in Game 4 of the Raptors' first-round series against Milwaukee, they won three straight.
Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Cleveland
Jonas Valanciunas 23 Scoring LeBron James 39
Kyle Lowry 5 Assists Kyrie Irving 11
Cory Joseph 6 Rebounds Tristan Thompson 9
Kyle Lowry 4 Free Throws Made LeBron James 15
DeMarre Carroll 2 Steals LeBron James 3
DeMarre Carroll 1 Blocks LeBron James 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 103 46.7 5-17 14-19 21 37 4 8 13
Cleveland 125 54.7 18-33 25-34 28 40 4 9 16
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .627 after a win and .613 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Raptors have a W/L % of .620 after a win and .625 after a loss.