MICHIGAN-- Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and LeBron James supplied 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series by downing the Detroit Pistons 101-91 on Friday night at The Palace.
Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Cavaliers, who can close out the Eastern Conference series in Game 4 here on Sunday night.
Tristan Thompson added eight points and 10 rebounds and Matthew Dellavedova chipped in 12 points for Cleveland, which made 12 of 29 3-pointers after tying the NBA postseason record with 20 made 3s in Game 2.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 18 points and Marcus Morris tossed in 16 for Detroit. Andre Drummond added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Reggie Jackson was held to 13 points with 12 assists.
Detroit scored seven straight points in the third quarter to take a three-point lead. Cleveland responded with a 6-0 spurt, then stretched its lead to six late in the quarter with a combination of 3-pointers and offensive rebounds.
J.R. Smith and Love made corner 3-pointers to give Cleveland a 73-69 edge. Thompson scored the team's next four points on a tip-in and a dunk.
Cleveland carried a 79-73 lead into the fourth quarter. James scored six points in the opening minute of the fourth on a three-point play and 3-pointer to make it 85-76.
A 10-2 Pistons run closed the gap to one before Irving drained a 3-pointer. Smith's corner three nudged the Cavs' lead to 95-90.
Then came a flurry of empty possessions for both sides before Irving nailed a corner 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired to seal the victory.
All three of the Cavs' stars reached double digits by halftime, but they needed a James jumper in the final second to take a 54-53 halftime lead. There were 17 lead changes and 12 ties during the half.
Drummond led Detroit with 11 points but didn't play the last 5:08 after Cleveland began the Hack-A-Dre strategy.
Pistons guard Reggie Bullock was a late scratch because of an inflamed nerve in his left leg.
Later game:
Atlanta 20 25 33 25 103
BOSTON 37 20 22 32 111
(Atlanta lead the best-of-seven series by 2-1)
TEXAS-- Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder responded from an uncharacteristic showing in impressive fashion.
Durant scored a game-high 34 points, Russell Westbrook added 26 and the Thunder rolled to a 131-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of a Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series Thursday night at the American Airlines Center.
With the victory, the Thunder grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday in Dallas -- where the Thunder are now 3-0 this season.
Wesley Matthews led the Mavs with 22 points, Raymond Felton had 18 and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 16.
Even with the lopsided score, things got heated between the teams. Midway through the third quarter, Felton, who is 6-foot-1, and Thunder center Steven Adams, who is 7 feet, went at it briefly.
Upon review, each was charged with a technical foul, and the game stayed chippy for a while after that.
That scuffle also briefly sparked the Mavs. Dallas went on a 10-3 run to pull to within 77-67 with 5:11 left, but never truly threatened.
The Thunder had at least a double-digit lead the final 23:14 of the game, and Durant is a big reason why.
After a dismal shooting night in Game 2, when he finished 7-for-33 from the field, the star forward returned to his usual self early in Game 3. Durant knocked down his seventh bucket midway through the second quarter, taking 24 fewer shots than he needed to match his Game 2 total.
Durant finished his night 11-for-25 from the field with seven rebounds and three assists.
Thunder guard Andre Roberson opened the game by draining a 3-pointer, and Oklahoma City never trailed.
The Thunder led by as many as 11 in the first quarter, and they built a 55-36 lead at one point in the second quarter.
The Mavs managed to stay somewhat within striking distance, closing the first half on a 12-3 run. Matthews started that run by knocking down a 3-pointer with 3:46 left, then made another with 1:04 left.
Still, the numbers overwhelmingly showed the Thunder were the better team. They shot 50 percent from the field and 3-point range in the first half, while the Mavs shot 41.5 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
On the night, Oklahoma City shot 57.7 percent from field to 47.7 percent for Dallas. The Thunder were 15-for-27 (55.6 percent) from long range to the Mavericks' 6-for-23 (26.1 percent). In the later games Raptors beat Pacers 101-85 and Rockets bested Golden State 97-96.
BARCELONA-- A red hot Luis Suarez scored four goals and contributed three assists as Barcelona's stuttering La Liga title charge sparked back to life with a spectacular 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece-- The official countdown to this year's Rio de Janeiro Olympics began with the lighting of the torch at the site of the ancient Games on Thursday and organisers hoping to shift attention away from Brazil's political and financial turmoil.
ATLANTA-- Kyle Korver busted out of a shooting slump and buried the banged-up Boston Celtics with a barrage of first-half 3-pointers in an 89-72 Atlanta Hawks win in Game 2 Tuesday at Philips Arena.
