NBA Playoffs: Cavs Ride LeBron, Record-tying 3s to Win Over Pistons

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 27 points, J.R. Smith made seven of Cleveland's NBA playoff record-tying 20 3-pointers, and the Cavaliers opened a 2-0 lead in their series with a 107-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

The top-seeded Cavs put away the up-and-coming Pistons in the third quarter, outscoring them 27-15 to protect home-court advantage.

There was nothing easy about their first two wins and the Cavs, favored to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals, will have their work cut out when the best-of-seven series resumes on Friday night at Detroit.

Kyrie Irving added 22 points for Cleveland, which went 20 of 38 on 3s and tied the postseason record shared by Golden State (2015), Dallas (2011) and Seattle (1996).

Andre Drummond scored 20 and Reggie Jackson 14 for the Pistons, who have lost 10 straight playoff games against Cleveland. Drummond was just 4 of 16 from the line (see full recap).

Clippers pull away from Blazers late for win
LOS ANGELES -- Chris Paul scored 25 points, J.J. Redick added 17 and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 102-81 Wednesday night and take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Damian Lillard and Mason Plumlee led the Blazers with 17 points each. CJ McCollum added 16 after being held to nine in their 20-point loss in the series opener. Plumlee and Al-Farouq Aminu had 10 rebounds each. Portland shot a season-worst 34.1 percent.

Philadelphia 76ers

Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Official says no-call was wrong to end Sixers' loss; Oubre apologizes for reaction 

3 observations after Sixers lose dramatic, controversial game in Harden's return

Game 3 is Saturday in Portland.

Blake Griffin had 12 points and nine rebounds and DeAndre Jordan had 18 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 46 percent and topped 100 points for the second straight game (see full recap).

Wade's 28 points lift Heat over Hornets
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade had 28 points and eight assists, Hassan Whiteside made all eight of his shots and finished with 17 points, and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-103 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Goran Dragic scored 18 points, Luol Deng had 16, Josh Richardson finished with 15 and Whiteside grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.

Kemba Walker scored 29 points for Charlotte, needing 29 shots to get there. Al Jefferson had 25 on 12-for-17 shooting off the bench, and Jeremy Lin added 11 for Charlotte -- which has dropped 12 straight postseason contests.

It was the 100th 20-point game of Wade's playoff career. The Heat are 64-36 in those games (see full recap).

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us