Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs second-round series Thursday, May 3, 2018, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs second-round series Thursday, May 3, 2018, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) Credit: Frank Gunn

Toronto — LeBron James had 43 points and 14 assists, Kevin Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors, 128-110, on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

J.R. Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and George Hill 13 as the Cavaliers posted their eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Raptors and halted Toronto’s four-game winning streak in Game 2s. The Raptors entered 6-1 all-time when playing Game 2 at home.

James had eight rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. He connected on 19 of 28 attempts, while Love shot 11 for 21.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry had 21 for the Raptors. Toronto won a team-record 59 games and finished as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference this season, but was easily shoved one step closer to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of James and the Cavs.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Fred VanVleet scored 14 points, but the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time all season.

Toronto matched Houston by going 34-7 at home in the regular season, and went 3-0 at home against Washington in round one. The Raptors had not lost consecutive home games since dropping Games 3 and 4 of the second round to Cleveland last May.

The series shifts to Ohio for Game 3 on Saturday night. Toronto has gone 0-5 at Cleveland over the past two postseasons, losing by an average margin of 24.2 points per game.

The Cavaliers are 21-3 at home against Eastern Conference opponents in the playoffs over the past four years.

Knicks Find Coach

New York — The New York Knicks have agreed to hire David Fizdale as their new coach, A person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press.

The former Memphis Grizzlies coach will replace Jeff Hornacek, who was fired last month after two seasons.

ESPN first reported the agreement with Fizdale.

Fizdale led the Grizzlies to the playoffs in his first season before being fired early last season following a clash with star center Marc Gasol.

That did little to diminish the respect of Fizdale, who had been an assistant to Erik Spoelstra in Miami when the Heat won two NBA championships and developed strong relationships with superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.