LeBron James and the rest of Cleveland Cavaliers are more than ready to step into the finals leg as they defeated the top-seeded Altanta Hawks 97-89 on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila Time) to open the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Four-time NBA MVP James pulled 31 points, eight rebounds and handed out six assists for Cavs, taking control of the third quarter in which they lambasted the Hawks, 23-16.
James sealed the victory with a powerful dunk in the final minute, securing his fifth Eastern Conference final.
Scoring for Atlanta, Jeff Teague scored 27, however Hawks lost starting forward DeMarre Carroll to a left leg injury in the fourth quarter.
Bound for the best of 7 series, the Cavs will try to tighten their grip on the series in game two on Friday (Saturday, Manila time).
The winners of the series will face the Western Conference champs in the NBA finals.
Golden State leads Houston, 1-0 in the Western Conference championships.
H/T: Inquirer.net; and photo
