CLEVELAND: The week off didn’t hurt the Cavaliers, but another second-half lull nearly cost them.
LeBron James scored 25 points and came up with two big steals late as the Cavs continued their dominance over the Atlanta Hawks with a 104-93 victory Monday night to take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Cavs over the Hawks after sweeping them in the conference finals last year and winning all three meetings in the regular season, but it didn’t come easy.
A dunk by James with 3:56 left in the third put the Cavs ahead 72-54 before the Hawks roared back, scoring 11 straight points and closing the third by scoring 16 of the last 18 to pull within 74-70 at the start of the fourth.