CLEVELAND _ LeBron James took a moment to lighten the mood in the third quarter Monday night as the Cavaliers hit the Toronto Raptors with yet another run.
James drove to the basket and attempted a layup as Serge Ibaka fouled him. The ball bounced off the rim and out, and James playfully proceeded to grab an adult beverage from a waitress as she walked courtside and tended to spectators.
James' sense of humor made the home fans laugh, and his play throughout the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals made them cheer as the Cavs recorded a 116-105 victory before a sellout crowd of 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena.
James made both free throws with 2:24 to go in the third as fans chanted "M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P," and finished his night with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. James made 13-of-23 field goals (including 2-of-5 from 3-point range) and 7-of-8 free throws.
Kyrie Irving contributed 24 points and 10 assists, and Kevin Love had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cavs, who will host the Raptors for Game 2 on Wednesday.
Tristan Thompson totaled 11 points and 14 rebounds, and J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver each scored six points.
Kyle Lowry paced the Raptors with 20 points and 11 assists. DeMar DeRozan (19 points), Ibaka (15 points), P.J. Tucker (13 points) and Norman Powell (12 points) also reached double figures.
A week off from game action didn't bother the Cavs on Monday as they jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the opening three minutes. Love swished a 3, James dropped in a layup, Irving netted a 3 and James finished the spurt with 9:12 on the clock with a powerful left-handed slam dunk in transition after Irving bounced the ball off the backboard.
The Raptors cut their deficit to 12-11 moments later with scoring from all of their starting five, but the Cavs responded with a 10-0 run to lead 22-11 at 5:12. James and Irving started the surge with layups, Love made a jumper and free throw and Smith nailed a 3.
Iman Shumpert contributed an emphatic right-handed slam dunk at 1:43, and Irving made two free throws to give the Cavs a 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cavs advantage reached 38-20 early in the second quarter on 3-point play by James, a jumper by Deron Williams and a 3-pointer by Korver, but the Raptors responded with a 19-3 run to trail 41-39 with 6:41 left in the first half. Lowry scored eight points and Ibaka added seven during the run.
The Cavs answered with 3-pointers by Smith and Love and another Love bucket to extend their lead to 49-39 at 5:28. They then closed the half with seven points in a row on a 3-pointer by Korver, two free throws by Irving and a layup by James to take a 62-48 advantage into intermission.
James had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists at halftime, and then took over in the third quarter as the Cavs maintained a comfortable lead. James scored 12 points in the quarter, including a 3 that made it 85-66 with 4:47 on the clock.
The Cavs ended the third quarter on a 9-3 run with James and Thompson each making two free throws, Shumpert making a 3 and Thompson dropping in a layup.
The fourth quarter featured more of James, and scoring from starters and reserves from both sides as the Raptors could never get to within single digits. James drove baseline for a right-handed dunk in the quarter and then exited to a standing ovation from the crowd.
