LeBron James scored 34 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers assured themselves home-court advantage through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 109-94 defeat of the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
James produced a dominant performance in the first three quarters, before sitting out the final quarter as Cleveland laid down a marker for the post-season with an impressive win that guarantees them top spot.
James scored 19 of his 34 points in the third quarter to help Cleveland take a 90-75 lead, before teammate Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers home with 35 points.
Photo: Ken Blaze, USA Today
Irving reeled off 11 of Cleveland’s first 12 points in the final period, leaving James safely with his feet up and already contemplating the playoffs.
Kevin Love chipped in with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Matthew Dellavedova also scored 10 points off the bench.
Kent Bazemore top-scored for the Hawks with 23 points, but was restricted to just two points in the second half as Cleveland took control.
The defeat left Atlanta at 48-33, firmly entrenched in a tight battle for the third, fourth and fifth seedings in the East with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
The form of James left Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue purring as the Cavs prepare for the playoff challenges ahead.
James has averaged 28.4 points per game in his past 10 games, while shooting at 63 percent. He is also averaging 52 percent from three-point range over the same stretch, a sharp improvement on a poor season average.
“I think when he’s taking shots in rhythm, catching and shooting it with confidence... percentages go up,” Lue said. “The best thing for him is just the shot selection, taking the great shots, the open shots, and then just live with the results. I hope he can keep it up. If he plays like this, man, we’re going to be tough to beat.”
James’ close friend and teammate James Jones said he could see the Cleveland talisman clicking into top gear as the playoffs loomed.
“There’s a clock that goes off in his body,” Jones said. “It starts to wake up and round into form. He’s just feeling good.”
James agreed.
“I’m in that mode right now,” James said. “As far as that personal kind of vendetta versus my opponents that I have during the post-season, it will ratchet up a little bit more, but as far as me personally, I’m where I want to be.”
Elsewhere on Monday, the penultimate stop on Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour ended with the NBA icon’s Los Angeles Lakers taking a pounding from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who ran out 112-79 winners.
Bryant will say goodbye to basketball in the Lakers final regular-season game at home today. However, his final game on the road was one to forget as Kevin Durant scored 34 points and Russell Westbrook bagged his 18th triple-double of the season in a blowout victory for the Thunder.
Westbrook’s triple-double was constructed in only 18 minutes, the quickest triple he has ever scored and the second-fastest in NBA history, while Bryant played only 19 minutes, scoring 13 points on four-of-12 shooting, as he prepares for what is set to be an emotional final curtain call at the Staples Center.
Oklahoma City’s victory saw them improve their home record to 32-9, the fourth best in the league behind Golden State, San Antonio and Cleveland, while the Lakers dropped to 16-65 for the season, deepening the gloom surrounding the franchise.
In Boston, Jeremy Lin scored 19 of his 25 points in Charlotte’s big second quarter, carrying the Hornets to a 114-100 win over the Boston Celtics.
Kemba Walker scored 18 points, while Al Jefferson and Marvin Williams each had 16 for the Hornets, who are in a tight race with Boston and Miami in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley led Boston with 17 points apiece.
It was just the Celtics’ third loss in their past 21 home games.
As with many of his visits to Boston, Lin had a number of Asian-American fans holding signs and cheering his play.
His big game came a night after he scored one point in a loss to Washington.
The Hornets trailed by four points after the first quarter, but took charge with a 31-3 run over the final nine minutes of the second. Lin paced the spree with a three-pointer and scored 11 straight points over a 1 minute, 41 second span.
Boston committed six turnovers in the quarter and shot just 13.6 percent (three of 22), while Charlotte made 57.9 percent of their shots (11 of 19).
The Hornets led 94-72 after three quarters. The Celtics made a brief run in the fourth, but never got their deficit into single digits.
Monday’s other results:
‧ Mavericks 101, Jazz 92
‧ Rockets 129, Timberwolves 105
‧ Wizards 120, Nets 111
‧ Magic 107, Bucks 98
‧ Kings 105, Suns 101
‧ Bulls 121, Pelicans 116
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