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Cavaliers roll Hawks, take 2-0 East lead

 
TWO NARROW VICTORIES: Stephen Curry drives past Rockets center Dwight Howard on Thursday, the Warriors’ second straight close call.
TWO NARROW VICTORIES: Stephen Curry drives past Rockets center Dwight Howard on Thursday, the Warriors’ second straight close call.
Published May 23, 2015

ATLANTA — LeBron James scored 30 and the Cavaliers took total command of the Eastern Conference final even without injured star Kyrie Irving, routing the Hawks 94-82 Friday night for a 2-0 lead with the series heading to Cleveland.

The Cavs made it a blowout with a dominating third quarter. James scored 11, the Hawks shot just 32 percent (7-of-22), and Cleveland led by 20 before settling for an 84-66 lead heading to the final quarter.

Irving, the All-Star point guard, was scratched before the game because of an ailing left knee, and he wasn't missed a bit.

James assumed many of the ball-handling duties, taking advantage of DeMarre Carroll clearly not being at 100 percent after he went down with a knee injury late in Game 1. Surprisingly, Carroll started after being carried off the court two nights earlier but hardly looked like the "Junkyard Dog."

The Cavaliers can wrap up the best-of-seven series by winning at home. The next two are in Cleveland, beginning with Game 3 Sunday night.

Tristan Thompson led another dominating performance for the Cavaliers on the boards. He had 16 rebounds and Cleveland finished with a 47-39 advantage.

Cavaliers 94, Hawks 82

CLEVELAND (94): James 10-22 8-11 30, Thompson 2-6 3-9 7, Mozgov 4-6 2-2 10, Dellavedova 4-13 1-2 11, Shumpert 6-11 0-0 16, Smith 3-8 2-2 9, Jones 3-5 0-0 9, Marion 1-2 0-0 2, Harris 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 33-76 16-26 94.

ATLANTA (82): Carroll 2-6 2-2 6, Millsap 2-8 0-0 4, Horford 5-8 2-3 12, Teague 5-16 0-0 12, Korver 4-11 2-2 12, Antic 0-1 1-2 1, Bazemore 3-4 1-2 7, Schroder 6-11 0-0 13, Scott 3-6 0-0 6, Mack 2-7 2-2 7, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Muscala 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 33-79 10-13 82.

Cleveland 26 28 30 10— 94

Atlanta 21 28 17 16— 82

3-Point GoalsCleveland 12-30 (Shumpert 4-6, Jones 3-5, James 2-7, Dellavedova 2-7, Smith 1-3, Harris 0-2), Atlanta 6-26 (Korver 2-6, Teague 2-6, Schroder 1-3, Mack 1-4, Antic 0-1, Bazemore 0-1, Carroll 0-2, Scott 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsCleveland 56 (Thompson 16), Atlanta 46 (Scott 7). AssistsCleveland 17 (James 11), Atlanta 15 (Teague 6). Total FoulsCleveland 14, Atlanta 19. Flagrant Fouls—Antic. A18,670 (18,729).

Warriors hanging tough: Stephen Curry has been playing like the MVP he is to help the Warriors to 2-0 lead in the Western Conference final.

Now things get tougher as Golden State heads to Houston for two games beginning tonight.

Curry scored 34 in Game 1, 33 in Game 2 Thursday and has made 11 3-pointers in the series.

"You put a lot of hard work into your craft, and when you rely on that work, you kind of just are in the moment, and those shots, when you rise up to take them, it feels natural, it feels normal," Curry said.

"I feel confident, and you just live with the results."

The Warriors took the first game by four points and won the second game by a point when MVP runnerup James Harden couldn't fight through a double team to get a shot up for Houston before time expired.

Houston point guard Jason Terry, who won a title with Dallas in 2011, said Game 3 is the most important one of the series for the Rockets.

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"This is a must-win game for us," he said. "Must-win time. You have to love it. It's the Western Conference final. What better place to be? Going home and the sense of urgency is going to be there from the tip."

Kobe update: GM Mitch Kupchak said guard Kobe Bryant told him that next season will be Bryant's last with the Lakers. Bryant, 36, is scheduled to make a league-high $25 million in his final contract season — his 20th. Bryant hasn't ruled out playing beyond next year.

Conference finals

East

CAVALIERS 2, HAWKS 0

Game 1: Cavaliers 97, Hawks 89

Friday: Cavaliers 94, Hawks 82

Sunday: at Cleveland, 8:30, TNT

Tuesday: at Cleveland, 8:30, TNT

* Thursday: at Atlanta, 8:30, TNT

* May 30: at Cleveland, 8:30, TNT

* June 1: at Atlanta, 8:30, TNT

West

WARRIORS 2, ROCKETS 0

Game 1: Warriors 110, Rockets 106

Game 2: Warriors 99, Rockets 98

Tonight: at Houston, 9, ESPN

Monday: at Houston, 9, ESPN

* Wednesday: at Golden State, 9, ESPN

* May 29: at Houston, 9, ESPN

* May 31: at Golden State, 9, ESPN

* If necessary