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James' triple-double powers Cavs to rout of Raptors

May 20, 2016 - 5:11 AM CLEVELAND -- On the same night he passed one legend in scoring, LeBron James stopped outside the locker room to greet another.

The postseason legend of the Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, is still growing.

James recorded his 15th career postseason triple-double on the same night he moved past Shaquille O'Neal into fourth place on the all-time postseason scoring list, and the Cavaliers remained perfect in the 2016 playoffs with a 108-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

James had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Cleveland became the fourth team in history to start a postseason 10-0. The Cavs have won the first two games in the series by a combined 50 points, and they are making it look easy.

"It's not easy. It's a lot of work," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "It's a lot of preparation, trying to stay ahead of the game, trying to figure out what they're going to do next."

Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Kevin Love had 19 points for the Cavs, who scored 16 of the final 18 points in the first half after the game was tied at 46 with 4:05 left in the second quarter. The Raptors missed their last nine shots of the half while each member of the Cavs' Big Three took turns extending the lead.

J.R. Smith scored 13 points for the Cavs, Tristan Thompson had nine points and 12 rebounds, and Channing Frye contributed 10 points off the bench. Cleveland reserve Matthew Dellavedova limped out of the game after turning his ankle in the second half and did not return, although Lue indicated that the guard would be fine.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points to top Toronto, and James Johnson, Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph added 11 apiece. Kyle Lowry finished with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting for the Raptors, who go home in an 0-2 deficit for the first time this postseason.

Game 3 is Saturday night at Toronto.

"I don't think our guys have quit. I refuse to believe that," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I've been around these guys. We've won 56 games. We've been down before. We've had some rough patches, and they've bounced back."

However, they haven't yet had to contend with a team quite like the Cavaliers. After setting records for their 3-point shooting through the first two rounds, the Cavs have attacked inside against the Raptors. They have scored at least 50 points in the paint in each of the first two games, and they shot 37 free throws Thursday -- more than twice as many as Toronto (18).

James has insisted throughout the postseason that the Cavs aren't strictly a jump-shooting team -- despite the gaudy 3-point numbers -- and the team reaffirmed that Thursday by scoring 108 points despite shooting just 33 percent (7-for-21) from long range.

As he was jogging through the tunnel following the victory, James saw Lakers Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar outside the Cavs locker room, and he stopped to pay his respects. James made a similar move during the NBA Finals last year when he stopped and bowed in front of Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown prior to a game.

"It always takes me back to my childhood and watching so many of the greats playing basketball and saying I wish I could be part of that, or at times saying there's no way I could be part of such a great league, there's no way," James said. "Just the statistics don't look right for me as an African-American kid growing up in the inner city.

"To be in this position today where I see my name linked to a lot of the greats that have played this game and paved the way for myself and Kyrie and Kev, it means a lot. It's very humbling."

Lowry again struggled through a miserable shooting night, missing seven of his first eight shots before finally making a 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the third quarter. He is 8-for-28 shooting in this series, including missing his first 11 3-point attempts. He didn't attempt his first three throws in the series until the fourth quarter Thursday.

Lowry was so frustrated with his play he returned to the locker room during the final few minutes of the first half to "decompress."

"I'm missing some shots, and give credit to their defense," Lowry said. "They're being active, but I'm getting some good looks that I've missed, and I don't think I'll be missing many more of those."

The Cavs continue to storm through the East with little resistance, winning playoff games by an average of 13.4 points.

"We're not giving up until they put us under, until that final buzzer goes off," Casey said. "If we do (fold), we're in the wrong business. Why are we here? Again, you may be seeing something I don't see. I don't see quit. They beat us two games, OK, but it's not over with yet."

NOTES: Cavaliers F LeBron James (5,254) passed Shaquille O'Neal (5,250) for fourth place on the all-time postseason scoring list. James called O'Neal, his teammate for one season, the most dominant player of James' lifetime. "It was out of my height, weight, league to try to emulate his game," James said. "But I admired what he was able to do out on the floor by pure force and dominance, his ability to play at that speed, to have that size and to carry that type of force that he had." ... Cavs coach Ty Lue and Raptors G Kyle Lowry have been close for years. Lue said Lowry wanted the two to watch Game 2 of the Western Conference finals together Wednesday but thought better of it. "He knew he couldn't," Lue said. "He knew it wouldn't look right."