LeBron James was at his best and kept the Cleveland Cavaliers rolling in the playoffs Monday.The Cavs earned a 116-105 Game 1 win over the Toronto Raptors in a contest that wasn't as close as the final score indicates.Cleveland has won five straight games to start the postseason, including a first-round sweep of the Indiana Pacers, and now holds a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.The Big Three combined for 77 points in the win, though James was the star, producing 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes.He even had time to joke around:Kyrie Irving also had a strong effort, with 24 points and 10 assists, while Kevin Love added 18 points and nine rebounds. Tristan Thompson was the only other Cavs player in double figures with 11 points and 14 rebounds.Cleveland scored at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters and assisted on 26 of its 39 made field goals.Kyle Lowry did his best to keep the Raptors alive with 20 points and 11 assists, matching Irving thanks to his 7-of-13 shooting. The problem was the lack of help around him.DeMar DeRozan had 19 points in the loss, but the All-Star also finished with a minus-32 rating.Toronto took Cleveland to six games in last year's Eastern Conference Finals, but the underdog is not off to the best start this time around.It's a long series, but it was clear who was the better team in Game 1:The Cavaliers had an eight-day layoff after they clinched their first-round series, but they didn't lack energy at the start of the game Monday.A pair of huge dunks helped the squad seize a double-digit lead in the first quarter:The Raptors fought back in the second quarter, but Cleveland still held a 62-48 lead into halftime.Even blocked shots by Toronto turned into wide-open threes for the home team:The Cavs' solid play on both ends of the court continued in the third quarter, and they blew the game open:The Raptors did their best to fight back in the final quarter, but the game remained a blowout until their reserves closed the gap in the last few minutes.The Cleveland defense had been a question mark in the second half of the season and also allowed over 100 points in each of its four games against the Pacers, but there won't be much concern if the offense continues to score like it did Monday.The Cavaliers will try to keep their momentum going in Game 2 at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday.The Raptors seem to have a serious challenge on their hands as they try to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole.
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