LeBron James recorded 43 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers made it two straight victories in Toronto with a 128-110 triumph over the Raptors on Thursday night in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Air Canada Centre.

Kevin Love contributed 31 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which leads the best-of-seven series 2-0. JR Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green added 14 and George Hill had 13 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who outscored Toronto by 20 points in the second half.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry added 21 points and eight assists to pace the top-seeded Raptors. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet tallied 14 points off the bench for Toronto.

Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland.

James connected on 19 of 28 field-goal attempts as the Cavaliers moved halfway toward eliminating Toronto in the postseason for the third straight season. Cleveland has won eight consecutive playoff games against the Raptors, but James made it clear the team will be keeping its foot on the gas pedal.

"We still got a long way to go, man. This is only our ninth game in the postseason together," James said in a postgame interview with ESPN while referring to the roster that was revamped prior to the trade deadline. "We just want to continue to try and improve each and every game. That's what we've done, through nine games we've improved."

Cleveland shot 59.5 percent from the field and set a franchise postseason record by committing just three turnovers. The Raptors shot 54.3 percent and lost the ball 11 times.

"We came out with a sense of urgency," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. "When you turn the ball over three times, now you can get back and get your defense set. And if we get five guys scoring in double figures, things are going to look better."

James scored 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting in the second half while taking over the contest.

Cleveland trailed by two at halftime, but James tallied 15 points during a 37-point third quarter as the Cavaliers built a 98-87 advantage. Cleveland was 16 of 22 from the field in the quarter.

The Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the quarter to take a 69-63 lead. A short time later, Hill capped a 7-0 surge with a basket to make it 79-68 with 7:50 left in the period.

Consecutive baskets by James followed by Love's inside hoop increased Cleveland's advantage to 89-75 with 4:17 remaining. The lead was 15 after Hill's steal and layup with 1:01 left before the Raptors scored the final four points of the period to trail by 11.

Green opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer and James added two baskets as the Cavaliers made it 105-87 with 9:51 remaining.

Two free throws by Love pushed the lead to 20 for the first time -- at 118-98 -- with 4:58 left. Smith followed with a 3-pointer 35 seconds later to increase the margin to 23.

"When Kevin's shooting the ball and playing fast, this is how we can play," Lue said of Love, who had not reached 20 points in a game this offseason until the Game 2 outburst.

Toronto shot 59.5 percent from the field in the first half. The Raptors led by as many as nine but were only up 63-61 at the break.


Terry Rozier had 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to help host Boston erase a 22-point deficit en route to 108-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night, giving the Celtics a 2-0 lead in an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jayson Tatum had 21 points, Marcus Smart added 19 and both Al Horford and Jaylen Brown scored 13 for Boston, which also claimed a 117-101 victory on Monday in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Horford grabbed 12 rebounds.

JJ Redick led Philadelphia with 23 points, making five 3-pointers. Robert Covington finished with 22 points and Joel Embiid totaled 20 points and 14 rebounds for the 76ers.

Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.

Brown played after being upgraded from doubtful to probable before tip-off. he missed the Celtics' Game 1 win because of a strained right hamstring that he sustained in Game 7 of the previous series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Celtics led 79-75 entering the fourth.

Covington's 3-pointer with 9:46 remaining restored the 76ers' lead at 82-81, and the teams went back-and-forth down the stretch.

The Celtics took the lead for good on Marcus Morris' trey, making it 96-95, with 4:13 to go. Boston ended the game on a 13-8 run after that, leading by as many as seven in the last two minutes.

Boston closed the first half on a 21-5 surge to trim the Philadelphia lead, once up to 22 in the second quarter, to 56-51 at the break.

Rozier tied the game at 58 with his two free throws with 8:51 on the clock in the third quarter, and an Aron Baynes 3-pointer at 7:45 gave the Celtics their first lead at 64-63.

Tatum's dunk with 2:24 left in the third capped a 50-20 run for Boston, putting the hosts up 76-68.

Philadelphia opened the game on an 8-0 run before Smart's corner 3-pointer with 8:37 left in the first put Boston on the board.

Brown checked in for the first time with 7:14 to play in the first. His thunderous dunk with 6:39 on the clock got the crowd on its feet and brought the Celtics within 11-7.

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