LeBron, Cavs host Wizards in Game 2 of first-round series

(Basketball News) - The fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers try to take a 2-0 lead over the No. 5 Washington Wizards when the teams battle tonight at Quicken Loans Arena in Game 2 of their first-round matchup.

This is a best-of-seven series with Game 3 scheduled for Friday at the Verizon Center.

In the opener, LeBron James recorded a triple-double in his first career playoff game to lead Cleveland past Washington, 97-86, at Quicken Loans Arena. James poured in 32 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in the victory.

Donyell Marshall added 19 points off the bench in Game 1s win over the Wizards for Cleveland, while veteran point guard Eric Snow contributed 14 points for the Cavaliers. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Flip Murray both netted 10 apiece in the victory..

Gilbert Arenas poured in 26 points and pulled down six boards in the loss for the Wizards, but was just 7-of-20 from the floor. Jared Jeffries scored 15 for Washington, while Antonio Daniels came off the bench and ended with 14 points.

The Cavaliers have dropped two Game 2s in a row in the postseason, while Washington has lost eight straight Game 2s. The last time Washington won the second game of a playoff series was on April 28, 1982 at Boston.

Washington and Cleveland have met in the postseason before with the Bullets eliminating the Cavaliers, 2-1, in the first round of the 1976-77 playoffs.

Cleveland has returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1998, when the Cavaliers were ousted in the opening round by the Indiana Pacers, 3-1.

The Wizards are appearing in the playoffs for the second straight season. Washington reached the conference semifinals last season, but was swept by the Miami Heat.

Before last season, the Wizards hadn’t reached the playoffs since losing to Chicago in the first round of the 1996-97 playoffs.

During the regular season, the Wizards won three of the four contests between the clubs.

The Cavaliers were 31-10 at home during the regular season, while Washington was 15-26 on the road.