Atlanta, May 21 (EFE).– The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 97-89 here in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to big scoring nights from LeBron James and J.R. Smith and poor 3-point shooting by the host squad.

The top-seeded Hawks led Wednesday night’s game at Philips Arena in the early going and were tied with the Cavs at halftime, but two 3-pointers by Smith sparked a 22-4 run in the third quarter that gave the visitors an 18-point lead.

Despite losing starting forward DeMarre Carroll to a potentially serious knee injury, the Hawks rallied and cut that advantage to 91-87 with a minute remaining in regulation before James sealed the victory – and with it home-court advantage – with a spectacular dunk.

The four-time league MVP had a game-high 31 points, while Smith, who came off the bench, played 35 minutes, connected on 10 of his 16 3-point attempts and finished with 28 points.

Smith came to the Cavs in a midseason trade that jumpstarted the struggling team.

Two other players that were part of that swap, starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert and starting center Timofey Mozgov, also have been major factors in the team’s turnaround.

Mozgov finished Game 1 with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while power forward Tristan Thompson also recorded a “double-double,” scoring 14 points and grabbing five offensive rebounds and 10 boards overall for the second-seeded Cavaliers.

Point guard Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 27 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the field, although he went 1-of-6 from behind the 3-point line and was one of several Hawks who struggled from long range.

Power forward Paul Millsap and Carroll went a combined 1-of-7 from behind the arc, while reserve guard Dennis Schroder was 0-of-3; Atlanta, a team that relies heavily on 3-point shooting, shot 4-of-23 overall from distance.

Game 2 of this best-of-seven series will be played Friday night, also in Atlanta. EFE