Cavaliers 109, Hawks 94
CLEVELAND -- The road to the Eastern Conference title officially goes through Cleveland.
LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points in the third quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-94 Monday to clinch home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
James dominated the game, playing 32 of the first 36 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter. He shot 13-for-16 and staked the Cavs (57-24) to a 90-75 lead before Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth.
Irving finished with 35 points, including a 3-pointer early in the fourth that extended the lead to 98-81. He scored 11 of the Cavs' first 12 points in the final period and 13 in the quarter overall -- a big reason why James didn't have to return.
Kevin Love had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Matthew Dellavedova scored 10 points off the Cleveland bench.
Kent Bazemore scored 23 points for the Hawks, including the game's first eight points to give Atlanta an early lead. He was held to just two points in the second half. Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 21 points and nine assists.
The Hawks (48-33) are in a tight battle with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat for playoff seeds No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 in the East.
James has been in playoff mode for weeks. He is averaging 28.4 points and shooting 63 percent in his past 10 games. He is shooting nearly 52 percent from 3-point range during that time, a dramatic improvement on what has been one of the worst 3-point shooting seasons of his career.
"I think when he's taking shots in rhythm, catching and shooting it with confidence ... percentages go up," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "The best thing for him is just the shot selection, taking the great shots, the open shots, and then just live with the results."
NOTES: Paul Millsap was named the Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 21.5 points, 14.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.5 blocks and two steals in four games last week. He had double-doubles in all four games. ... The Hawks can finish as high as third and as low as fifth in the Eastern Conference, but coach Mike Budenholzer insists he's not worried about seeding. "We just want to be playing well and healthy," he said. ... Cavs G Iman Shumpert sat out Monday and will miss Wednesday's final regular-season game after getting his left knee drained over the weekend. He is expected to be ready for the postseason. ... Cleveland G Mo Williams returned to Florida Monday for what is believed to be his third visit with Dr. James Andrews because of his ailing left knee. ... Coach Tyronn Lue named Tristan Thompson his starting center for the postseason. Thompson had been alternating with Timofey Mozgov.