LeBron James posted 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers notch a 113-112 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night at Air Canada Centre.
JR Smith scored 20 points and Kyle Korver added 19 for Cleveland, which never led in regulation. Jeff Green had 16 points, and Tristan Thompson contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, and Jonas Valanciunas recorded 21 points and 21 rebounds for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry registered 18 points and 10 assists, and Pascal Siakam had 11 points for the top-seeded Raptors.
Toronto's Fred VanVleet missed a potential winning 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in overtime.
"Considering the circumstances, we definitely stole one," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "I don't think we played our best game. I think they know that as well. We didn't play extremely well, but to come in and beat a good team like Toronto on their home floor ... it does feel like we stole one."
Game 2 is Thursday in Toronto.
Korver's 3-pointer 37 seconds into overtime gave Cleveland its first lead of the contest. Smith drained a 3-pointer and Thompson scored in the interior to give the Cavaliers a 113-107 edge with 2:17 remaining.
The Raptors pulled within one on Lowry's 3-pointer with 57.9 second left.
James posted his 21st career postseason triple-double. Korver and Smith each made five 3-pointers as the Cavaliers went 14 of 35 from behind the arc and shot 41.2 percent overall.
The Raptors shot 42.9 percent from the field and 9 of 28 from 3-point range.
"A lot of things, we did to ourselves," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "I think we're a better team. We just didn't make the shots down the stretch. I know it sounds simplistic, but we had our open looks, had our opportunities that we didn't cash in on and some other things we could clean up defensively."
James hit a turnaround shot with 30.3 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 105. Toronto missed four shots on its last possession, and James' shot bounced off the rim as time expired.
"I definitely wasn't as efficient as I would like to be," James said. "I missed a lot of open looks, a lot of open threes that they were going under. A lot of floaters in the lane. ... My teammates were unbelievable tonight. They stepped up when I wasn't at my best."
Toronto led by three at halftime before controlling the first seven minutes of the third quarter with Valanciunas' inside hoop making it 80-67 with 5:08 remaining.
The Cavaliers responded with a 13-3 surge to trim their deficit to three with 1:38 left. Siakam scored back-to-back hoops to push the Raptors back ahead by seven before Toronto settled for a five-point edge entering the final stanza.
Delon Wright drained a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to give the Raptors a 92-82 lead. However, Cleveland answered with a 12-4 burst, and Smith's corner 3-pointer pulled the Cavs within 96-94 with 8:05 left.
A 3-pointer by James drew the Cavaliers within 100-99 with 4:48 to play. Serge Ibaka made three free throws with 1:42 left to give Toronto a four-point lead before James made two consecutive baskets to knot the score.
DeRozan scored 15 first-half points as Toronto led 60-57 at the break.
Kevin Durant hit two jumpers and a pair of free throws in a late 9-0 run Tuesday night that allowed the Golden State Warriors to pull away from the New Orleans Pelicans for a 121-116 victory in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Oakland, Calif.
Stephen Curry returned from a knee injury to score 28 points off the bench, helping Golden State take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series shifts to New Orleans for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
The Warriors' late run coincided with Curry re-entering the game for the final time with 6:59 to go and the Pelicans hanging within 101-98.
Andre Iguodala got the critical burst going with a steal and dunk on which he was fouled by Rajon Rondo. The dunk attempt clanged high off the back of the rim before falling through the net.
Iguodala then dropped in the subsequent free throw for a 104-98 lead.
Durant took over from there, first hitting two free throws, then a pair of short shots that extended the advantage to 110-98 with 5:15 left.
The Pelicans got as close as 119-113 on a 3-pointer by Anthony Davis with 35.9 seconds remaining. However, New Orleans was forced to foul Draymond Green, whose two free throws stalled the rally.
After missing 5 1/2 weeks with a sprained left MCL, Curry played 27 minutes, during which the Warriors outscored the Pelicans by 26 points. Golden State was outscored by 21 points while Curry was on the bench.
Curry hit eight of his 15 shots and five of his 10 3-point attempts, and he also found time for seven assists.
Golden State won its 14th consecutive home playoff game. Durant led the Warriors with 29 points, while Green finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.
Iguodala added 15 points and Klay Thompson, despite 4-for-20 shooting, had 10 for the Warriors, who have beaten the Pelicans in 26 of their past 28 meetings.
Davis had 25 points, Jrue Holiday 24 and Rondo 22 for the Pelicans, who have never won a second-round series in their playoff history.
Davis (15 rebounds) and Rondo (12 assists) completed double-doubles, while Nikola Mirotic chipped in with 18 points and E'Twaun Moore 14 in the loss.
Both teams made 13 3-pointers, Golden State attempting 40 from long range and New Orleans attempting 37.