Page 19 - ARUBA TODAY

A19
SPORTS Friday 20 april 2018

James leads Cavaliers past Pacers; Jazz top Thunder

By The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron
James scored 46 points
and added 12 rebounds
as the Cleveland Cavaliers
bounced back from a poor
performance in the opener
by holding off the Indiana
Pacers 100-97 on Wednes-
day night to even their
Eastern Conference series
at one game apiece.
Dazzling from the start,
James scored the game's
first 16 points and had 29
at halftime, dominating
the way he has in so many
previous postseasons. But
in a season in which noth-
ing has been easy for the
Cavs, Cleveland was lucky
that Indiana's Victor Ola-
dipo missed a wide-open
3-pointer that would have
tied it with 27 seconds left.
Kevin Love scored 15, but
Cleveland's All-Star center
injured his left hand, the
same one he broke earlier
this season, with 3:43 left.
Love's status could affect
the remainder of this series
— and perhaps Cleveland's
season. Oladipo scored
22 — he was in early foul Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against
trouble — and Myles Turn- the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
er 18 for the Pacers, who Associated Press
shocked the Cavs with an
overpowering win in Game seven rebounds in the first Utah's lead with the Jazz early, but went on top for Towns had another disap-
1. Game 3 is Friday night in playoff win of his seven- leading 99-95, but Anthony good with a 37-point sec- pointing game, scoring all
Indianapolis. year career. missed 3-pointers on back- ond quarter, powered by of his five points in the first
JAZZ 102, THUNDER 95 Russell Westbrook had 19 to-back possessions. four 3-pointers from Green, quarter, after being criti-
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — points, 13 assists and nine Game 3 will be Saturday in and the Wolves didn't cized for finishing with eight
Rookie Donovan Mitchell rebounds for the Thunder. Utah. threaten again. The top- in the series opener. The
scored 13 of his 28 points in Paul George, who scored ROCKETS 102, TIMBER- seeded Rockets won the All-Star big man went to
the fourth quarter to help 36 points in Game 1, fin- WOLVES 82 opener by three behind a the bench with about sev-
the Utah Jazz defeat the ished with 18 on 6-for-21 HOUSTON (AP) — Chris Paul 44-point performance from en minutes left in the third
Oklahoma City Thunder shooting. Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and Gerald James Harden on a night quarter and didn't return.
and tie their Western Con- scored 17 points, but made Green came off the bench when most of the team Jamal Crawford scored 16
ference playoff series at just six of 18 shots. to score 21 as the Hous- struggled offensively. Things points for the eighth-seed-
one win game apiece. Utah outrebounded Okla- ton Rockets used a huge were much different on ed Timberwolves, who are
Derrick Favors had career homa City 56-46 to take second quarter to cruise Wednesday when Harden in the playoffs for the first
playoff bests of 20 points home-court advantage past the Minnesota Timber- had just 12 points as one of time since 2004.
and 16 rebounds for the from the Thunder. Oklaho- wolves and take a 2-0 lead four Rockets who finished in The series moves to Min-
Jazz, and Ricky Rubio had ma City had two chances in the first-round playoff double figures. nesota for Game 3 on
22 points, nine assists and in the final minute to trim series. Houston fell behind Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Saturday.q