LeBron, Irving shine as Cavs cage Hawks

Kyrie Irving and LeBron James are polishing up their games for the post-season.  
Irving exploded for 35 points, James had 34 on 13-of-16 shooting before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 109-94 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
“It’s great when you’re able to accomplish things along the way,” said James, eyeing another NBA Championship. “I was able to deliver and we guaranteed ourselves more home games.”
With the playoffs starting this weekend, James is eagerly looking forward to the NBA’s second season.
“I’m getting that feeling, it’s ramping up a little bit more now that we’re in the final week of the regular season,” said James, averaging 28.2 points in the last 11 games.
“I’m where I want to be. I’m in a good rhythm. Once the play-off seedings are set, I’ll start locking in on my opponent.”
The Cavs will face either Indiana or Detroit - the No 8 seed.
Cavs rookie head coach Tyronn Lue was proud of his club’s accomplishment.
“We wanted the No1 seed,” he said. “It’s a big thing for us; it’s a tribute to how hard they worked, how great they played. Now we have to ride this wave going into the playoffs.”
Lue says James is raising his game at the right time. “If LeBron plays like this we’re going to be tough to beat,” he added. “The last three or four weeks he’s taking his game to a higher level.”
Kevin Love had a quiet 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs (56-24), who outscored their guests 68-49 in the middle two periods en route to their seven straight win in the series.    
The Cavs led 51-45 at halftime, with James scoring 15 points. He added 19 in the decisive 39-point third-quarter and the Cavs opened up a 90-75 cushion.
“King James” rested in the fourth quarter but Irving picked up the slack with 13 points and the Cavaliers cruised home with the milestone win.
“When LeBron went out I told (Kyrie) he had to be aggressive and carry us and that’s what he did,” Lue said. “I’m glad he had a great game tonight.”
Kent Bazemore led the playoff-bound Hawks (48-33) with 23 points but just two in the second half.
Elsewhere:
Dallas Mavericks 99, Utah Jazz 92: Deron Williams scored 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 22 with 11 rebounds and the visiting Mavericks clinched a playoff spot for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons after edging the Jazz. Dallas (42-39) is likely to finish as the No7 seed in the West. Gordon Haywood had 26 points for Utah (40-41) which dropped into an eighth-place tie with Houston (40-41) for the final playoff spot in the West with one game remaining. The Jazz can earn a trip to the post-season, should they beat the host Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s final game.
Houston Rockets 129, Minnesota Timberwolves 105: James Harden had 34 points, Trevor Ariza added 21, and the Rockets’ kept their playoff hopes alive after routing visiting Timberwolves. The Rockets hold the tiebreaker over the Jazz and can qualify for the post-season, if they beat the Kings at home on Wednesday. Shabazz Muhammad scored 23 points for the Timberwolves (29-53), who were denied their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Oklahoma City Thunder 112, LA Lakers 79: Kevin Durant scored 34 points, while Russell Westbrook collected his league-leading 18th triple-double of the season, with 13 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds, as the playoff-bound Thunder (55-26) rolled the Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s final road game. Bryant, who will retire on Wednesday after 20 seasons, finished with 13 points before leaving in the third quarter of the Lakers’ (16-65) franchise-record 13th consecutive road loss.
Charlotte Hornets 114, Boston Celtics 100:Jeremy Lin poured in 19 of his 25 points in a game-breaking 39-13 second quarter, and the visiting Hornets (47-34) bounced the Celtics (47-34) to move into a fifth-place tie with Boston in the East playoff picture. Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley had 17 points apiece for the Celtics, who suffered just its third loss in the past 21 home games.
In games involving already playoff-eliminated clubs: the Orlando Magic bounced the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 107-98; the visiting Washington Wizards recovered to clip the Brooklyn Nets 120-111; the visiting Sacramento Kings held off Phoenix Suns 105-101; and the visiting Chicago Bulls handled the New Orleans Pelicans 121-116.