LEBRON JAMES GIVE WIZARDS A 30 POINT BEATING IN GAME 2 April 21, 2008 - The Cavaliers took full advantage of their homecourt on Monday night in Cleveland, taking a 2-0 series lead with a 116-86 blowout of the visiting Wizards. In the fourth quarter, with the game well out of reach, but a triple-double well-within reach for LeBron James, James took a seat on the bench to watch his team cruise to victory. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS. WASHINGTON WIZARDS PLAYOFFS: GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS James fell one rebound short of his second-career triple-double in the playoffs, finishing with a game-high 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Three players joined James in double figures as the Cavaliers set a franchise playoff record for margin of victory with their 30-point win over the Wizards. 2008 PLAYOFFS CLEVELAND CAVALIERS ROUND 1: GAME 2: PHOTO GALLERY DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler and Darius Songaila led five Wizards in double digits with 12 points apiece. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Cavaliers 93 Wizards 86 : Cavs Lead Series 1-0 Game 2 : Cavaliers 116 Wizards 86 : Cavs Lead Series 2-0 Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Washington, 8 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Sunday, April 27 : at Washington, 1 p.m. ET (ABC) Game 5* : Wednesday, April 30 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Washington, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - WASHINGTON WIZARDS The Wizards, who have been bounced from the playoffs by the Cavaliers in the first round each of the last two years, will try to climb back into the series when they host Cleveland on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. - NBA.com    LEBRON JAMES & CAVALIERS LEAD SERIES AFTER GAME ONE April 19, 2008 - Round one went to LeBron. Determined to make the Wizards swallow their words, LeBron James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington on Saturday. Called "overrated" by Washington's DeShawn Stevenson in the final weeks of the season, James scored 20 points in the second half to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that appears to have a long way to go. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS. WASHINGTON WIZARDS PLAYOFFS: GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS James sat out the early part of the fourth quarter to rest a troublesome back. But once he returned to the floor, the superstar forward came through. With the score tied 84-84, James knifed his way down the lane and hit a layup between Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with 1:37 remaining. Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game -- and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock. 2008 PLAYOFFS CLEVELAND CAVALIERS ROUND 1: GAME 1: PHOTO GALLERY The Wizards never recovered, and although Daniel Gibson missed a free throw and James misfired on two attempts from the line in the final minute, Washington couldn't come up with the big shot and scored just two points in the final 4:39. Delonte West made four free throws in the final 15.1 seconds to seal Cleveland's win. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Cavaliers 93 Wizards 86 : Cavs Lead Series 1-0 Game 2 : Monday, April 21 : at Cleveland, 7 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Washington, 8 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Sunday, April 27 : at Washington, 1 p.m. ET (ABC) Game 5* : Wednesday, April 30 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Washington, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - WASHINGTON WIZARDS Arenas scored 24 points in 27 minutes before fouling out with 13 seconds to go. Jamison added 23 and Stevenson had three on 1-of-9 shooting for Washington, which has lost to Cleveland in the opening round the past two seasons. - ESPN.com    LEBRON JAMES FACES WASHINGTON WIZARDS IN 2008 PLAYOFFS April 17, 2008 - Gilbert Arenas wanted it. DeShawn Stevenson wanted it. And the Wizards? They got it: A first-round matchup with the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. Though Charles Barkley thinks they’re “the dumbest team in the history of civilization” for riling their opponents’ best player. Washington aims to take advantage of a Cleveland team that enters the playoffs having gone 15-13 after completing a massive makeover at the trade deadline, when they renovated their roster through a three-team trade with the Bulls and Sonics. Expunging Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden, among others, brought back Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. West has been the most productive of the bunch, averaging 10 points and four assists as the starting point guard, and Wallace has provided a defensive complement to Zydrunas Ilgauskas down low. But both were brought in to provide a boost to the team’s franchise player, James, who averaged 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as he led Cleveland to its fourth straight season of 40-plus wins and third straight second-place finish in the Central Division, trailing Detroit each time. Though they managed to win 43 games, the Wizards have been plagued by injury all season, with Gilbert Arenas playing in only 13 games and All-Star Caron Butler also missing significant time (59 games played). CLEVELAND CAVALIERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Saturday, April 19 : at Cleveland, 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) Game 2 : Monday, April 21 : at Cleveland, 7 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 3 : Thursday, April 24 : at Washington, 8 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 4 : Sunday, April 27 : at Washington, 1 p.m. ET (ABC) Game 5* : Wednesday, April 30 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) Game 6* : Friday, May 2 : at Washington, TBD (TBD) Game 7* : Sunday, May 4 : at Cleveland, TBD (TBD) * If necessary 1ST ROUND - WASHINGTON WIZARDS The timing of the injuries means that their “Big Three” of Arenas, Butler and Antawn Jamison (also an All-Star) has played 11 games together – eight in November and just three in April. The team is 4-7, and still jelling; to ease the transition, Arenas has been coming off the bench. Whichever team can congeal quicker will be at a distinct advantage, though as last season’s run to the Finals proved, LeBron James can lift Cleveland right through any ceiling one would care to conceive. (See: 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5) Thusly, the much-heralded grudge matchup with Stevenson will be the one to watch. If the self-anointed “Locksmith” can keep King James’ stats in line with those posted by basketball peasantry, and Arenas, Butler and Jamison find their All-Star form, the Wizards will advance to the Semifinals. But Cleveland has home-court advantage, and is bound to score an all-world performance or two from its still-blooming superstar. The Cavaliers again will travel as far as James can carry them. - NBA.com