CLEVELAND — LeBron James wasn’t ready to go home. Instead he’s heading to Toronto, bringing a Cleveland Cavaliers team that isn’t done yet.

Unwilling to sit despite leg cramps in the second half, James scored 45 points and got much-needed help from teammates in Game 7 to stay unbeaten in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, leading the Cavaliers to a 105-101 win Sunday over the Indiana Pacers, who pushed the game’s best player to the breaking point.

James said the series took a physical toll.

“I’m burned right now,” he said. “I’m not thinking about Toronto right now until tomorrow. I’m ready to go home. Can we? I’m tired. I want to go home.”

James added nine rebounds, seven assists and played over 43 minutes while improving to 13-0 in the first round. He kept Cleveland’s strange season alive – for now – but it took everything he and the Cavs had to hold off the Pacers, who came in confident after a 34-point win in Game 6.

James, who at times seemed to be playing the Pacers by himself in the series, pulled the Cavs back from the brink of elimination and at least delayed any more talk about free agency.

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“Amazing,” Victor Oladipo of Indiana said of James. “He did what he always does. It’s not really shocking. He’s the best in the world and that’s what the best does, and now I’ve got to work to get on that level.”

The Cavs will open the conference semifinals Tuesday at top-seeded Toronto.

James then played the first 35 minutes before heading to the locker room with one minute left in the third quarter to be treated for what he said was “a little minor injury.” James said he was urged to get IV fluids but turned them down.

ROCKETS 110, JAZZ 96: James Harden scored 41 points, Houston raced to a huge lead at home and sailed in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Houston was up by 25 at halftime behind 34 points combined from Harden and Chris Paul. The Jazz, who didn’t wrap up their first-round series with Oklahoma City until late Friday night, looked sluggish and struggled to keep pace with the top-seeded Rockets, who haven’t played since eliminating Minnesota on Wednesday.

It was Houston’s fourth straight win by 10 or more points this postseason, and the Rockets have won their five games against the Jazz by an average of 16.8 points.

Harden, who also had seven assists and eight rebounds, picked up where he left off in the regular season against the Jazz when he averaged 34.3 points, led by a 56-point performance in a 137-110 win in November that set a career high he has since bested.


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