LeBron James of Cleveland Cavaliers goes up for a shot as Chicago Bulls players look on during the first half of the Eastern Conference semi-finals in Cleveland, Ohio. (AFP)

DPA/Los Angeles

LeBron James vowed to change his approach in game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series and the Cleveland Cavaliers star delivered. “King” James poured in 33 points and the Cavs dominated the visiting Chicago Bulls 106-91 on Wednesday to level their matchup at 1-1.
“I wanted to be aggressive the whole game,” said James, who wasn’t looking for his shot despite a 19-point, 15-rebound, nine-assist effort in Sunday’s 99-92 game 1 loss. “We needed it; we didn’t want to go down 2-0.”
James received an extra push from his teammates, especially Kyrie Irving. “My guys wanted me to be ultra-aggressive from the start to the finish,” he explained. “Kyrie demanded excellence out of me and I just tried to respond the best way I know how.”
Irving said: “LeBron was all over the floor and when he’s in that mindset he’s the greatest player in the world.” Irving netted 21 points, reserve James Jones and Iman Shumpert added 17 and 15, respectively for second-seeded Cleveland, which never trailed in the bashing.
“We came out a lot more ready than we needed to be,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “We had to be in the moment from the jump ball; we had to be engaged and have a great mindset and set to the tone. I thought we did that.”
In a reversal of the opener, the Cavs stormed out to a 38-18 first-quarter lead and a comfortable 64-45 halftime cushion behind 22 James points. “They really jumped on us from the beginning and it changed the whole game,” said Bulls guard Derrick Rose, who collected 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “Everybody played off LeBron and we let them get to where they wanted to go.”
The Cavs opened up a 25-point advantage three minutes into the second half but suffered a brief lapse. The Bulls went on a 14-0 run that included 3-pointers from Rose and Jimmy Butler to pull within 72-61 midway through the period. Cleveland answered, though. James bookended a pair of layups around consecutive triples by Jones and the lead quickly swelled to 82-67 with 2:49 to go. The hosts carried an 87-71 advantage into the final frame and coasted home to lock up the series.
Butler scored 18 points to pace the third-seeded Bulls, who received 11 more from Spaniard Pau Gasol. “We knew their aggression would be great and we didn’t respond,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Lebron got everything. He’s a tough cover and he’s going to make you pay if we’re not together. We paid for it tonight.” Chicago hosts game 3 today. “Just as good as we were tonight,” James said, “we have to be even better on Friday night.”
In the West: League MVP runner-up James Harden poured in 16 of his 32 points in the final quarter, Dwight Howard had 24 with 16 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets rallied past the visiting LA Clippers 115-109 to even their semifinal series at 1-1.
“I knew my team was battling extremely hard and it was up to me to go out there and push us forward,” Harden said. The Clippers played again without their All-Star point guard Chris Paul because of a left hamstring strain.
Trevor Ariza had 15 points and 13 rebounds for second-seeded Houston, which hit a whopping 42-of-64 free throws to rebound from Monday’s lethargic 117-101 game 1 loss.  
Blake Griffin had 34 points but just eight in the second half along with 15 rebounds, while DeAndre Jordan accumulated 16 and 12 boards for the third-seeded Clippers, who were outscored 59-44 in the second half.
“We let one slip away,” Griffin said. “We came here to win two but we can’t hang our heads.”  
The Clippers led by 13 in the third quarter but couldn’t hold it.  Instead, the Rockets went on a 20-4 run bridging the third and fourth period to go up nine. “We stop executing and trusting in the pass,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
A 10-2 burst drew LA within 111-107 with a minute left on a pair of Jamal Crawford free throws. The Clippers had a shot to get closer after a missed runner by Corey Brewer but Austin Rivers dribbled the ball out of bounds.
With 16.1 seconds left, Howard hit two free throws for a six-point lead but a Jordan dunk cut to 113-109. Harden, then, sank two more from the stripe with 13.3 ticks left to seal the win.
“We had them on the ropes,” Rivers said. Los Angeles hosts game 3 today.