HOUSTON – James Harden predicted Chris Paul would “come back and drop 30” after not playing his best in Houston’s playoff opener.
Close enough.
Paul had 27 points and Gerald Green came off the bench to score a playoff career-high 21 as the Rockets used a huge second quarter to cruise to a 102-82 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night that gave them a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Paul, a nine-time All-Star, scored 14 points and tied a season high with six turnovers in the first game. Early on, it was clear that Paul wouldn’t struggle again as he had 15 points, three assists, two steals and a block by halftime.
In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 46 points and added 12 rebounds as the Cavaliers bounced back from a poor performance in the series opener by holding off the Indiana Pacers, 100-97, to even their Eastern Conference playoff matchup at one game apiece.
Dazzling from the start, James scored the game’s first 16 points and had 29 at halftime, ruling the floor as he has done in so many previous postseasons.
“Coach (Tyrone) Lue called up the first play for me and it went down,” James said. “So we went back to it. I was able to hit another one. And it just felt like I was in a really good rhythm, so I just tried to see how long I could stay in that zone and try to make a mark on the game early on.”
But in a season in which nothing has been easy for the Cavs, Cleveland was lucky that Indiana’s Victor Oladipo missed a wide-open three-pointer that would have tied it with 27 seconds left.
“I got a clean look, I shot and I just missed,” Oladipo said, shrugging his shoulders. “If I had that look again, I would take it every time.”
Kevin Love scored 15, but Cleveland’s All-Star center jammed his left thumb – the same hand he broke earlier this season – while deflecting a pass and sat out the final 3:43 left with the Cavs clinging to a slim lead. Lue said Love could have returned and “he’s fine” for Game 3 on Friday.
In Oklahoma City, Utah rookie Donovan Mitchell bucked a bruised left foot and scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the Utah Jazz defeat the Thunder, 102-95, to likewise tie their Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece.