Rockets rout Spurs in 2nd-round opener

James Harden powered the Houston Rockets to an epic rout of San Antonio in their second-round play-off opener on Monday.

Harden had 20 points and 14 assists while Trevor Ariza scored 23 points and Clint Capela contributed 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Rockets dumped the host Spurs, 126-99, to start their best-of-seven Western Conference series.

“It’s just one win,” Harden said. “It’s a good win but we’ve got to be ready for game two. They’ve got a lot of fight in them. We missed a few shots. We’ve got to play better in game two.”

The Rockets sank a team play-off record 22 3-pointers on 50 attempts, inflicting the most three-pointers allowed by the Spurs in play-off history.

San Antonio trailed by as many as 39 points in the team’s largest game-one defeat in play-off history. The Spurs 69-39 half-time deficit was their worst in play-off history.

“We lost and they won and they played better,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We competed but I don’t think we executed in a very wise manner.”

The Spurs and Rockets, in their first play-off meeting since 1995, were two of the three winningest teams in the NBA this season, both trailing Golden State, which opens the second round Tuesday against Utah.

A 15-2 run to open the second quarter put Houston ahead 49-25. The Rockets had 30 assists on 40 baskets, their passing and fast pace humbling the veteran Spurs.

“There are no individual efforts here,” Harden said. “I’ve been proud of that all year.”

The Rockets went 12-of-27 from three-point range in the first half, already hitting more shots from beyond the arc than in any first-round contest.

Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 21 points and 11 rebounds but the Spurs made only 31-of-84 shots from the floor.

Cavaliers 116, 

Raptors 105

LeBron James scored 35 points, and Cleveland continued its play-off dominance of Toronto with an easy win in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal.

James added 10 rebounds and four assists. He also tied Kobe Bryant for second place in league history with his 88th play-off game scoring at least 30 points.

Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 10 assists for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Kevin Love finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Raptors, who were bounced by the Cavs from the Eastern Conference finals in six games last season, were led by 20 points from Kyle Lowry and 19 from DeMar DeRozan. P.J. Tucker finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Serge Ibaka added 15 points, and Lowry had a game-high 11 assists.