King James in the zone as Cavs romp to Game 1 victory in Boston

BOSTON - So much for the Cavaliers being rusty.

LeBron James intimidated every defender Boston threw at him and Cleveland picked up where it left off following a long layoff, rolling to a 117-104 victory on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the NBA's Eastern Conference final.

James had 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Kevin Love added a playoff career-high 32 points and had 12 rebounds to help the Cavaliers improve to 9-0 in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

They opened 10-0 last season en route to their first NBA title.

"It was our two big guys that set the tone - Kev and Double-T (Tristan Thompson), they were phenomenal," James said. "I saw it in Kev this morning. I knew what type of game he was going to have. So he came through for us."

But there's no denying it has started with James, who has scored at least 35 points in five straight games.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said James' efficiency continues to make things easier for everyone on both ends.

"He's playing at a high level. And that's the reason why we're riding him so much," Lue said. "When LeBron's playing at that level, other guys just have to be solid and we have a good chance to win."

Game 2 is on Friday night in Boston.

Coming off a 10-day break, James and the Cavaliers raced to an early lead they were never at risk of losing.

"You can't dig yourself in a big hole like that against them," Boston coach Brad Stevens said.

James scored at will in the first half and the Cavs built a 26-point lead. Love opened up the floor for James, burying outside jumpers and forcing Boston to leave defenders one-on-one with James.