LOS ANGELES: LeBron James scored 35 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-94 Friday to take a 3-0 stranglehold lead in their second-round NBA playoff series.
James also tallied eight rebounds and seven assists as Cleveland will seek to clinch the series with a win in Game 4 on Sunday in Toronto.
"When we're getting stops, we're a dangerous team," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "It was an all-round good game for us rebounding, offensively and defensively, so we just have to keep that up."
Elsewhere, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points as the San Antonio Spurs used a barrage of late three pointers to overcome James Harden's 43-point performance to beat the Houston Rockets 103-92 in their playoff series.
The Raptors played without star point guard Kyle Lowry who sprained his ankle in Wednesday's loss in Cleveland.
Toronto led by three points at halftime but the Cavaliers kept pressing in the third and seized command in the fourth.
James was instrumental in the comeback, scoring 13 points in the final quarter.
Lowry took part in the warm-up and was listed as active for the game, but Cory Joseph started in his place. Lowry sat on the bench for the whole game.
Kevin Love delivered 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving also scored 16 while Kyle Korver had 14 points. Tristan Thompson added nine points and 12 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan rebounded from a poor performance in game two to lead Toronto with 37 points.
"I liked our fight, I loved the way our guys competed," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "There was no back down."
Casey was unusually optimistic considering his team was looking at this game as an important opportunity to play their way back into the series.
Their playoff exit appears to be nearing as they have no answer for James, who scored 39 points in Game 2 on Wednesday to move past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into second place on the all-time playoff scoring list.
"We couldn't get anything to fall for us and they turned it on offensively and ran away with it," said DeRozan.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points and eight rebounds, with Norman Powell chipping in with 13 points and Serge Ibaka adding 12 for Toronto.
In Houston, Aldridge was especially dangerous from in the paint in Game 3 as the Spurs took a 2-1 lead in the second-round Western Conference series.
He shot 12-of-20 from the field, a much better performance than the four points he scored in Houston's one-sided win in Game 1.
"This was his best game, obviously," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Aldridge. "He felt good tonight. He was loose as far as his physical nature, his legs and everything. He wasn't too stiff. And it showed. He moved up and down the court well, he was able to push off on the block, he felt good shooting the ball.
"In addition to busting his butt on (defense) and trying to hit the boards for us, he was a big help tonight."
Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday in Houston.
Kawhi Leonard added 26 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Trevor Ariza tallied 17 points for Houston but had just two after halftime.
The Rockets' three-man bench of Eric Gordon, Nene and Lou Williams combined for 10 points on three-of-19 shooting.
"They did a good job of just staying home on our shooters and forcing me to finish and make plays," said Harden, who was 14 of 28 from the floor.
Houston shot just 36 percent from the field and couldn't keep pace with San Antonio, who were playing without injured point guard Tony Parker.
Parker will miss the remainder of the 2017 postseason after suffering a ruptured left quadriceps tendon in the fourth quarter of Game 2.
Cavs near Raptors sweep, Spurs topple Rockets
Cavs near Raptors sweep, Spurs topple Rockets
Shakib Al-Hasan shines as MI Emirates down table-toppers Desert Vipers by 4 wickets
- All-round performance helped move the team back to second in the points table
DUBAI: MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.
The Desert Vipers managed to score 124 courtesy of Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls, but MI Emirates navigated a tricky chase with relative ease. With the ball, spinner Al-Hasan’s two wickets for 14 runs led the charge and kept the Vipers in check, before Zahoor Khan’s death bowling ensured the total remained below par.
In reply, MI Emirates stumbled in the powerplay and lost momentum in the middle overs, but Pollard’s 26 off 15 balls flipped the contest decisively. Even after his dismissal, Al-Hasan held firm to see the chase through, striking the winning boundary to complete a controlled four-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
MI Emirates endured a slow powerplay as the Vipers applied sustained pressure. David Payne set the tone early, removing Jonny Bairstow (5 off 5), while Lockie Ferguson struck to dismiss Muhammad Waseem (18 off 13). They finished the powerplay with 35/2 on the board.
The batting side lost momentum through the middle overs as the Vipers bowlers tightened the screws. Nicholas Pooran (17 off 17) mounted a brief counterattack with two sixes but was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Wickets fell at regular intervals, including Tom Banton (10 off 10) being bowled by a sharp Qais Ahmad delivery.
Then, skipper Pollard swung the momentum decisively, taking Ahmad apart with a pair of sixes in the 15th over that turned the chase in MI Emirates’ favor. He was eventually dismissed by Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan (17* off 25) held his nerve, anchoring the finish before striking the winning boundary off Matiullah to close the chase at 124/6 in 17.3 overs.
In the first innings, the Vipers made a subdued start in the powerplay, as Chris Woakes was excellent up front, conceding just 15 runs from his three overs. Allah Ghazanfar struck the key blow by removing Max Holden (20 off 18). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 13) tried to build momentum, but the lack of boundaries and regular dots ensured the Vipers were restricted to 35/1 after six overs.
MI Emirates tightened their grip through the middle overs as Al-Hasan struck twice in a miserly spell to remove Zaman and Sam Curran (4 off 4), conceding just eight runs in two overs. Arab Gul added to the pressure by dismissing Hasan Nawaz (13 off 19), leaving the Vipers reeling after losing three wickets in as many overs and the score at 54/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Lawrence and Jason Roy (14 off 18) showed intent in patches, adding a cautious stand of 42 runs in 40 balls, but boundaries were scarce. Al-Hasan capped an outstanding spell, leaving the Vipers with little impetus. Khan delivered a decisive final over, finishing with two for 17, as regular wickets in the death overs ensured the Vipers were kept in check, leaving MI Emirates a manageable target of 125 to seal the chase.
Al-Hasan said: “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. I’m glad it helped the team. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”
Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Curran commented: “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”
