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 Goals—Cleveland 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 Out—None. Rebounds—Cleveland 56 (Thompson 16), Atlanta 46 (Scott 7). Assists—Cleveland 17 (James 11), Atlanta 15 (Teague 6). Total Fouls—Cleveland 14, Atlanta 19. Flagrant Fouls—Antic. A—18,670 (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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Explore all your options"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