Nets attempt to even series with Cavaliers

In Game 1, LeBron James shook off a cold to score 21 points, pull down 11 rebounds and dish out seven assists as Cleveland edged New Jersey, 81-77, on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.

Larry Hughes added 17 points, six six assists and four steals in Game 1’s win for the Cavaliers, while Sasha Pavlovic finished with 15 points and Drew Gooden netted 14 and grabbed 14 boards in the victory.

Vince Carter tallied 21 points, 13 rebounds and six assists but shot just 7- of-23 from the floor for the Nets, while Richard Jefferson finished with 16 points and Bostjan Nachbar ended with 12 points off the bench. Jason Kidd scored seven points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out nine assists, but shot a poor 2-of-11 from the field.

Game 3 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Saturday at Continental Airlines Arena.

This is the third time the Cavaliers and New Jersey are meeting in the postseason. Cleveland defeated the Nets twice in the first round. The Cavs knocked out the Nets in four, 3-1, in 1992 and in five, 3-2, in 1993.

The Cavaliers swept the seventh-seeded Washington Wizards in the opening round of the postseason. Cleveland is 2-2 all-time in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Cavaliers defeated Washington in seven games in 1976 and beat the Celtics in seven in 1992. They were swept by the Bulls in 1993 and lost in seven to Detroit last year.

New Jersey knocked out the third-seeded Toronto Raptors, who won the Atlantic Division during the regular season, in six games in the first round. The Nets have lost their last two trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals. They were ousted in seven by Detroit in 2004 and in five by Miami last season.

The Nets are 2-3 all-time in the East semis. New Jersey, which lost to Milwaukee, 4-2, in the 1984 East semis, did defeat the Charlotte Hornets, 4-1, in the 2002 semifinals and the Celtics, 4-0, in 2003. The Nets are 2-0 in the conference finals and 0-2 in the NBA Finals.