James, Smith lead Cavaliers in Game 1 victory

LeBron scores 31 as Cavaliers take

Eastern finals opener in Atlanta

Associated Press

ATLANTA

LeBron James scored 31 points, while J.R. Smith made eight 3-pointers and added 28 to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks 97-89 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.

Making a tough night even worse for the Hawks, they sustained a potentially huge blow in the fourth quarter when DeMarre Carroll went out with a knee injury.

Intent on bringing Cleveland its first NBA title, James sealed the victory with a soaring dunk in the final minute. But Smith was the one who ignited the Cavaliers, going 8 of 12 from 3-point range.

For the Hawks, it was the second straight series in which they’ve lost the opening game at home. Cleveland will look to take command of the series in Game 2 Friday night.

Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 27 points. Carroll, who had been the Hawks’ leading scorer in the playoffs, went down driving to the basket with 4:59 remaining. He was helped to the locker room, not putting any weight on his left leg. Coach Mike Budenholzer said the initial diagnosis was a sprained knee, with an MRI scheduled for Thursday to determine the seriousness.

The Cavaliers took control when Smith knocked down back-to-back 3s in the third quarter. After the second one, he turned toward the Atlanta fans and blew off his right index finger and motioned toward his side, like he was holstering his pistol.

Yep, he was that hot.

Cleveland outscored the Hawks 22-4 over the final 5 minutes of the third quarter and the first 2 minutes of the fourth. In fact, the Cavs scored the first 11 points of the final period for their biggest lead, 85-67.

Carroll’s injury left the crowd in silence and would be tough for the Hawks to overcome.

Even without Carroll, Atlanta closed to 91-87 with about a minute remaining. But James got loose from Paul Millsap out near the arc, took off down the lane uncontested and slammed home a dunk that finished off the Hawks.

Smith has been a huge addition for the Cavaliers since he was acquired in January as part of a three-team trade with New York and Oklahoma City, a player once known for his selfishness learning to work well with within the confines of a team led by James.

When the Cavaliers really needed Smith in Game 1, he seemed to make every shot.

Looking to get off to a quick start in front of their raucous home crowd, the Hawks jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter. Atlanta shot 61 percent and James went to the bench with about 3 minutes remaining in the period after picking up his second foul.

The Cavs hit just 35 percent in the opening quarter, but a dominating performance on the boards kept Atlanta from pulling away. Cleveland outrebounded the Hawks 15-6 over the first 12 minutes, actually yanking down more offensive rebounds (seven) than Atlanta’s total output.

James returned in the second quarter and began to take control of the Cleveland offense. He scored 14 points in the period on 7-of-9 shooting, taking advantage when the Hawks tried to bait him into a third foul by guarding him with smaller players. James kept driving to the basket but managed to avoid a lot of contact.