Sports

AMMAN — The women’s U-19 national football team regrouped on Wednesday to start preparations for the Asian Group A qualifiers for the 2017 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Women’s Championship.

The draw put Jordan alongside Australia, Singapore and Lebanon and the Northern Mariana Islands. The top team from each group in the qualifiers set for October 29 moves to the final championship in 2017.

Jordan was also drawn in Group A in the U-16 qualifiers set for August 27 where they will play alongside Thailand, Myanmar, Guam, Laos and Pakistan with the top team advancing to the championship

For the past decade, women’s teams have been competing in all age divisions in the Asian zone. In 2014, the U-19 team was eliminated from Group A qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship after qualifying as the only Arab team in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. 

On the other hand, as Jordan starts the countdown to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup kicking off September 30, the Jordan Football Association is trying to secure more friendlies and training camps.

In 2015, the U-16 boys, and U-19 and were eliminated from their respective Asian qualifiers. The women’s national team also exited the 2015 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a winless record.

The Kingdom had earlier qualified to the AFC U-19 Championship four times. In 2006, the team scored the country’s biggest sporting success when they qualified to the 2007 FIFA Youth World Cup after reaching the semis and eventually finishing fourth at the Asian U-19 Championship. They exited the group stages in 2008 and 2010 and reached the quarters in 2012. Jordan failed to qualify in 2014 when they exited Group B qualifiers in Amman. 

Also last year, the U-23 team exited the 1st West Asian Championship but it was impressive in early 2016, when it reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Championship when it lost 1-0 to South Korea and failed to join the top four and a possible Olympic slot with the continents top three advancing to the Olympic Games football tournament in Rio de Janeiro. 

In 2014, the U-23 squad had similar circumstances when it represented Jordan at the Asian Games. It made it to the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team, as well as, local clubs. Now most of the recalled national team players are from this core group.

TORONTO — LeBron James has had a standing reservation with the NBA finals for five consecutive years, but the best player of his generation is suddenly in jeopardy of seeing his remarkable streak come to an end.

James has been playing some of the best basketball of his career during the 2016 play-offs but was unable to rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to a victory on Monday that would have all but punched their ticket to the championship round.

Instead, the Cavaliers fell 105-99 to the Toronto Raptors, who tied up the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final at 2-2 with a second consecutive home victory.

James, determined to bring a maiden NBA championship to the Cavaliers and snap a city-wide title drought in all major sports that dates back to the National Football League-winning Cleveland Browns in 1964, had a team-high 29 points in the loss.

“It wasn’t enough because we got off to a horrible first half once again in this building and you’re playing catch-up again,” James told reporters of his team’s 57-41 deficit after two quarters.

“We are not starting off games the right way. The second quarter has been really bad for us here, so we got to do a better job of that and we can’t dig ourselves such a deep hole.”

Knowing his legacy will be measured by the number of titles he wins, the next few days could be among the most important of the two-time NBA champion’s career.

Gave everything

Getting to the NBA finals in five consecutive years is no easy feat and at 31, James needs to take advantage of every opportunity to add a third title to his resume, especially when his team has ventured this deep into the play-offs.

But since James knows more than most about what it takes to reach the NBA finals, he is not ready to panic with his Cavs heading home for Wednesday’s pivotal Game 5.

In fact, James, playing his second season back in Cleveland after winning two championships in four seasons with the Miami Heat, was very satisfied with his performance in the loss.

“For me, I gave everything that I had in the 46 minutes that I played,” James said. “Both offensively and defensively I felt great. I tried to get my guys involved and get myself involved so my individual gameplan was pretty good.”

The defeat marked the first time since 2010 that Cleveland, who were coming off a 15-point Game 3 defeat in Toronto, lost consecutive play-off games to an Eastern Conference foe.

Toronto opened up an 18-point lead late in the second quarter but Cleveland battled back and pulled ahead with eight minutes to play.

But Toronto, powered by a combined 67 points from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, took advantage of a handful of defensive mistakes by Cleveland to regain the lead and breathe new life into the series.

“Even at the end of the day, as well as they played, we still had a chance to win the ball game,” James added. “What we can’t do is a dig a hole like we did in the first half.”

AMMAN — Jordan’s upcoming football agenda seems quite varied and busy as officials grapple with scheduling for the start of the new season, with the national team and upcoming Women’s U-17 World Cup agendas posing a real challenge.

The season will now scheduled to start on July 15 with the major obstacle being stadia for four local competitions, as well as a break or the Women’s U-17 World Cup running from September 30 to October 21 delaying the competitions.

The competitions committee at the Jordan Football Association (JFA) has suggested the Cup Winner’s Cup starting the season on July 15 and bringing back the JFA Shield on the calendar as of July 17. The Jordan Cup preliminary round will be played until September 16 before it heads into a break.

All local matches will conclude by September 15 and resume after the World Cup. Match locations will vary including AFC Cup matches in case Wihdat and Faisali qualify past the Round of 16 this week.

This season, Wihdat won the Jordan Professional League title for the third consecutive year, while rivals Faisali secured one title beating league and Super Cup titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to clinch the 33rd Super Cup. 

It was Ahli who were the overall better team of the season. After years in the backstage, Ahli secured one of the season titles when they beat Shabab Urdun to win their first Jordan Cup final. They advanced to the final after eliminating titleholders Faisali while Shabab Urdun eliminated Jazira.

Ahli Chairman Saeed Shuqum noted the team’s results were a result of long-term planning. “For the past three years we tried to put the team on track to be among the top three, and we succeeded,” he has told The Jordan Times. “We also know of the deficiencies and are trying to amend all gaps and be ready for the next season,” he added.

A long-time veteran and founder of the game in Jordan, Ahli were relegated to Division 1 in 2004 for the first time in their history. They were back among the Professional League clubs in 2014, finished 5th in 2014/15 and third in 2015/16 in the league.

Shuqum underlined it was a combination of three sides “club board, coaching staff and players determined to make a difference”, adding “we hope to get more sponsors which are needed for a sports team to sustain its advance”.

Ahli had the best overall percentages. They played a total of 28 matches winning 15, drawing in six and losing seven while scoring 29 goals along the way. Ahli did not allow a single goal in the Jordan Cup. After finishing third in the league, they earned a total of JD80,000 including JD45,000 as Cup champs.

2015/16 season Top 6 Overall Standings

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City handed Golden State a more complete beating than anything the Warriors had experienced during their record-setting season, winning 133-105 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference finals.

Suddenly, a second straight title that for so long seemed certain for Golden State is in jeopardy, and the Thunder firmly have the upper hand.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in a one-sided game.

The Warriors, who set an NBA record with 73 victories in the regular season, trailed by 41 points at one stage; their largest deficit this season.

“We got what we deserved,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

Durant made 10 of 15 shots and Westbrook was 10 of 19. It was the first time this postseason both players shot better than 50 per cent from the field.

“We’re not going to win that way,” Golden State guard Klay Thompson said. “One of those guys got to have an off night.”

Serge Ibaka added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder, who matched a franchise record for most points scored in a playoff game.

Oklahoma City dominated the rebounds 52-38, continuing the pattern of the series that the team that wins the boards wins the game.

“That’s one thing we slipped up on in Game 2, and tonight we did a good job of getting loose balls and finding ways to get 50/50 basketballs and give ourselves extra possessions,” Westbrook said.

Golden State will be in an uncomfortable position heading into Game 4 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City, but the Warriors remain confident. Golden State trailed Memphis and Cleveland 2-1 in play-off series last year and won both on its way to claiming the NBA title.

“Both times, we got blown out in Game 3, and we responded well, so we have that memory,” Kerr said. “I’m confident we’re going to come out and play a really good game in Game 4, and we’ll see what happens.”

The last time Golden State’s Stephen Curry had played in Oklahoma City, he scored 46 points, tied an NBA record with 12 3-pointers and hit a game-winning, 37-footer. This time, the league MVP finished with a relatively modest 24 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Klay Thompson added 18 points on 8-for-19 shooting.

Golden State’s Draymond Green, who kicked Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams in the groin and has become Thunder fans’ No. 1 target because of some questionable tactics, struggled on both ends of the floor and finished with six points on 1-for-9 shooting. The Warriors were outscored by 43 points when he was in the game.

Seemingly energised after Green’s foul, the Thunder outscored the Warriors 24-7 the rest of the half, with many of the baskets coming against Green. In a play that summarised the second quarter perfectly, Green went in for a lay-up and got it blocked by Durant, then Durant made a 3-pointer on the other end to give the Thunder a 64-47 lead.

Green fouled Westbrook on a long 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in the first half. Westbrook made all three free throws to put the Thunder up 72-47 at the break; the most points scored against the Warriors in any half this season.

The Thunder continued the onslaught by making 17 of 22 shots in the third quarter to take a 117-80 lead into the fourth.

BARCELONA — Spain’s sports press hailed Barcelona on Monday after the La Liga champions beat Sevilla to lift the King’s Cup for the 28th time and clinch a second successive domestic double.

Goals from Jordi Alba and Neymar in extra-time gave their team a 2-0 triumph in Madrid’s Vicente Calderon Stadium on Sunday, eight days after they won La Liga for the sixth time in eight years.

Barcelona-based El Mundo Deportivo highlighted 10-man Barca’s impressive resilience after Javier Mascherano was sent off in the 36th minute,

They kept the score at 0-0 before Sevilla had Ever Banega dismissed in added time at the end of 90 minutes.

“Heroics!” the paper’s headline said. “A warrior Barca resist... to win the 28th Cup title.”

The Blaugrana were made to work hard to clinch their seventh domestic double.

“Barca proved they know how to suffer,” AS newspaper wrote on their front page.

Barca have amassed 28 titles since winning the Spanish Supercup in the 2005-06 campaign. That includes four European Cups, seven La Liga titles, four King’s Cup trophies, three FIFA Club World Cups, three European Super Cups and six Spanish Supercups.

EL Mundo Deportivo editor Santi Nolla applauded Barca in his column on Monday.

“This Barca, that accumulates 28 titles in the 21st century, never gave up. “Luis Enrique and this team have achieved seven titles out of nine in two years, which indicates that they continue to be the reference and the best in the world.”

Not since the 1952-53 campaign when Barca clinched the league and the King’s Cup, had a Spanish team managed to defend the domestic double, with Athletic Bilbao being the only other club alongside Barca to do so in the 1930s.

Sport, another Barcelona-based daily, lauded Barca’s achievement.

“Heroes!” screamed its headline. “Barcelona achieves a historic double after an epic exhibition.”

Barcelona did miss out on a second consecutive treble-winning campaign after losing to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals but Alba insisted that Barca had had a great season.

“You cannot always win three titles. Two is very good and we are thrilled,” he said.

Spain’s biggest-selling paper Marca’s front page included a photograph of Barca captain Andres Iniesta lifting the King’s Cup with King Felipe VI behind him.

“King Iniesta!,” screamed the headline.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez’ participation in the Copa America Centenario is in doubt after the Uruguay striker left Spain’s Copa del Rey final with an apparent muscle injury and in tears on Sunday.

Suarez is expected to undergo tests to find out the extent of the right leg injury that forced him to limp off the pitch in the second half of the game against Sevilla at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in Madrid.

He was seen celebrating with the rest of his teammates after Barcelona won 2-0 in extra time to secure its second straight Copa title, but walked gingerly and at times still looked in pain.

On Twitter, Suarez showed optimism.

“Now we wait for the tests tomorrow,” he said. “I hope it’s nothing so I can be with my national team next week. Thanks for the support.”

Cameras showed the striker crying on the bench after being substituted, with his teammates comforting him. A few times he covered his head with his jersey, looking desolate.

Uruguay’s first Copa America game is on June 5 against Mexico. The 100th anniversary edition of the tournament will be held in the United States, the first edition staged outside South America.

The striker appeared to get hurt while going for a ball crossed to him inside the area early in the second half. He over-extended his right leg to try to reach the ball and immediately felt a strain on the back of his right leg.

He tried to continue for a bit but ended going to the ground and asked for medical assistance. Suarez walked off the pitch by himself in the 56th minute, very slowly and clearly in pain.

Barcelona was yet to provide any official information about the injury, only saying that it would be re-evaluated on Monday.

Suarez had been crucial to the team in the final stages of the season. He had scored 14 goals in the last five matches.

Suarez finished the season with 59 goals in all competitions and was the top scorer in the Spanish league with 40, five more than Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

LONDON — Louis van Gaal had little time to savour delivering Manchester United’s first trophy since the Alex Ferguson dynasty ended three years ago.

Within an hour of collecting the FA Cup after Saturday’s victory over Crystal Palace, Van Gaal left his jubilant players to be faced with more uncertainty about his United future now the season is over.

For six months United has not challenged the veracity of reports that the American ownership will ditch Van Gaal before his third season in charge and bring in Jose Mourinho. United’s leadership still remained silent on Saturday, rather than publicly backing Van Gaal.

Just before Van Gaal entered the Wembley Stadium news conference after the 2-1 victory over Palace in extra time, fresh reports emerged that Mourinho’s hiring was inching closer.

“I don’t want to talk about leaving,” Van Gaal responded when it was highlighted that United hasn’t denied it plans to recruit Mourinho.

Mourinho did not comment when approached by reporters at a boxing event in London on Saturday. Fired by Chelsea in December, Mourinho told The Associated Press last week that he would sign a contract with a new team by the end of next month.

Van Gaal had the air of a manager on the way out during a combative exchange with reporters at Wembley. The 64-year-old Dutchman delivered a defence of his United reign and claimed internal restrictions prevented him from achieving more this season. United failed to achieve its ultimate goal of Champions League qualification after finishing fifth in the Premier League.

Asked about targets for next season if he stayed in charge, Van Gaal responded: “That’s dependable because also last season I have asked for players but you don’t think that the players I have asked [for] have come.”

Van Gaal complained that clubs more than double the cost of players when the record 20-time English champions make an approach.

“I need the players that I have asked [for],” he said. “I have said I want creative, fast wingers... and we didn’t do that because it was not possible.”

Clicking his fingers, Van Gaal said: “You are thinking everything is possible at Manchester United. No. I’m sorry. It is not.”

Nor does winning the world’s oldest football cup competition necessarily guarantee keeping your job.

What Van Gaal has done — largely due to injuries — is adhere to the club’s traditions of utilising academy graduates. One produced the winning moment in extra time as Jesse Lingard netted five minutes after United was reduced to 10 men in the 135th FA Cup final.

The Palace defence only half-cleared Antonio Valencia’s cross and Lingard volleyed into the top corner of the net to complete United’s comeback.

“We’ve had a tough end to the season but I thought we worked very hard today — our determination got us through this so I’m delighted,” United captain Wayne Rooney said. “It’s been a [while to win a cup].

“Winning trophies lifts football clubs and lifts supporters. The fans have had a tough few years. Hopefully they enjoy tonight.”

United showed the fighting spirit often lacking under Van Gaal to provide a winning end to the campaign.

Alan Pardew won’t. The Palace manager produced a giddy jig on the touchline after Jason Puncheon put the London club ahead in the 78th minute. But within three minutes, Rooney waltzed through the Palace defence before whipping in a cross that Juan Mata equalised from.

Fortune seemed to favour again at the end of the first period of extra time when Chris Smalling received a second yellow card for a rugby-style tackle, grabbing Yannick Bolasie’s right leg.

Smalling saw red but United kept its cool, with Lingard striking in the 110th minute to deny Palace a first major trophy.

It is the first time United has won the FA Cup since 2004 — one of 38 major trophies Ferguson won as manager from 1986 to 2013. Ferguson’s immediate successor, David Moyes, was fired after less than a year in charge. Van Gaal has managed to end the club’s rare trophy drought, and the Dutchman has titles in four countries in management.

“I don’t want to speak about Louis van Gaal leaving,” Rooney said. “He’s still our manager and it’s a bit unfair after we’ve just won the FA Cup to speak about him as if he isn’t here. He’s a good manager. I’m grateful he’s helped us win this FA Cup.”

The Toronto Raptors crushed any ideas that they were going to be swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Led by 32 points from DeMar DeRozan, and a franchise play-off record of 26 rebounds by Bismack Biyombo, the Raptors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-84 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.

“Everybody thought we were going to be swept and I think that fuels us,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “I thought we played with force.”

It was the first loss of the play-offs for the Cavaliers, who swept through the first two rounds undefeated and won the first two games against the Raptors and lead the series 2-1.

“We just had a bad night but give them credit, they played well,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said. “They played like a team with their backs to the wall. They came out and they beat us. They were more aggressive, they were more physical, they were more active and they were faster.

“You have to give them credit, coming home and playing hard and feeding off their home crowd. We’ve got to play harder.”

The Raptors led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, were ahead by 13 at half-time, took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter and led by as many as 15 points early in the fourth.

The Cavaliers cut that to eight before Biyombo made six successive points to increase the lead to 14 with 3:38 to play.

The centre finished with seven points.

“He was huge,” Casey said. “I thought he played a big-time game in the paint. He’s done it all year. He’s just kind of the spirit of our team.”

“We shoot 35 per cent, there’s a lot of rebounds available,” Lue said. “He did a great job of protecting the paint; he had [four] blocked shots and he rebounded the ball well.”

“It was amazing, he was big-time,” DeRozan said. “Without him we probably wouldn’t have this win.”

Casey said Biyombo also has to deal with physical play.

“He’s getting fouled so much, he’s not getting calls,” Casey said. “There has to be some consistency. We have the greatest officials in the league but how you can miss fouls like that and calls like that and I can’t see it.”

Kyle Lowry added 20 points for the Raptors, Cory Joseph had 14 and DeMarre Carroll and Patrick Patterson each had 10.

“Just being aggressive,” DeRozan said of his big night. “Picking and choosing my spots, not second guessing, just being aggressive.”

LeBron James scored 24 points for the Cavaliers. J.R. Smith added 22 for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving had 13 and Channing Frye 11.

“First of all give a lot of credit to Toronto,” James said. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, not fix everything, just fix a few things and be much better on Monday.”

Toronto led 27-24 lead after the first quarter.

Lowry picked up his third foul of the game with 8:07 left in the second quarter but Joseph did a solid job while the Raptors’ All-Star point guard spent some time on the bench.

Joseph’s 3-pointer with 4:09 to play in the second quarter gave the Raptors a 49-37 lead. After a Cavaliers’ miss, Carroll made a 3-point shot for a 15-point Toronto lead. Patterson’s lay-up with 1:22 to play boosted the advantage to 18.

James closed the half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors led 60-47.

The Cavaliers opened the second half on a surge and had the lead down to six with 9:44 to play in the third quarter when James made a free throw after he was fouled making a layup.

After the Raptors went up by 11, Smith hit two straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to five with 4:20 to play in the third.

Joseph hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter to give Toronto an 80-70 lead.

The Raptors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to go up by 15.

Richard Jefferson made a lay-up with 6:38 to play to cut Toronto’s lead to 10.

Biyombo’s hook shot put Toronto ahead by 12 points with 4:39 to play and his lay-up extended the lead to 91-77.

Biyombo was called for a flagrant foul — a call disputed by the Raptors — on James and the two free throws cut the lead to 12.

Joseph’s pull-up jumper with 1:38 to play restored Toronto’s 14-point lead.

AMMAN — Wihdat and Faisali are readying to play Round of 16 matches May 24-25 in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup matches which will pave the way to the quarter-finals.

Wihdat’s line-up arrived in Doha to face Iraq’s Air Force on May 24 after they managed to book one of two qualifying slots following a hard fought 3-2 win over Lebanon’s Al Ahed.

Two-time AFC Cup champs Faisali left Amman on Sunday to play Group A leaders Bahrain’s Muharraq in Manama on May 25 after they finished second in Group B in Round 1 following their defeat to Iraq’s Naft al Wasat 1-0 

Jordan Professional League champ Wihdat were nearly out of the competition after inconsistent performances locally as well. However, the team managed to win the league title for the third year running after closest competitors Faisali and Ahli stumbled. Team official Ziyad Shilbayeh said the squad was back on track after ending a string of defeats and draws.

“We look forward to advance further. This is a title which we have not won and as league champs we aim to be winners,” Shilbayeh said after Wihdat beat Al Ahed to qualify. 

The team is not without many challenges like the suspension of three players including goalie Amer Shafie, while two others are on the injury list.

Faisali dismissed their coach Rateb Awadat after their defeat to Naft al Wasat and replaced him with Firas Khalaileh. Club officials were reported to have promised the team bonuses in case of a win in their upcoming match, as well as advancing further in the competition.

Faisali aim to return to the forefront of competitions this year while Wihdat hope the AFC will make up for elimination from the Asian Champions League — the premier Asian competition — where they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia’s Ittihad Jeddah.  Wihdat have taken part in the past eight AFC editions but have not won an Asian title. This year, they conceded the season opening 33rd Super Cup to rivals Faisali, while Ahli won the Jordan Cup.

The second tier Asian club competition has been won three times by Jordanian teams: Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007.

In 2015, Jordanian teams were absent from advanced stages of Asian competitions as Wihdat and Jazira were knocked out of the AFC Cup Round of 16. 

In 2014, Jordan Cup champs That Ras exited the Round of 16 in their inaugural AFC participation while former AFC Cup champs Shabab Urdun exited in Round 1.

DEAD SEA — Mohammed Kukhen on Friday was crowned champion of the third round of the Jordan Drift Championship held at the Service Park of the Dead Sea area with the participation of 54 drivers from Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

With this win Kukhen tops the overall standings with 70 points, followed by Othman Takriti (69 points) and Munir Hattar (50 points).

Friday’s third round witnessed Kukhen’s ultimate reign with 136 points, followed by Takriti (133 points) and Hattar (125 points). 

Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that it was a crucial round with lots of followers.

“It was a great event for both drivers and fans of this popular sports. Unfortunately four drivers retired early due to technical issues with their cars but still the number of participants is impressive and very promising,” he said.

“The event consisted of three rounds and drivers gave all their best but the judges selected 13 drivers for the last round in which Kukhen proved to be a powerhouse in these events,” he added.

At the end of the event, Kukhen expressed his happiness with the result which forced him to put a lot of pressure on his car and the track.

CLEVELAND — Overshadowed as Golden State shot down history during the regular season, the Cavaliers are making this postseason their own.

Perfectly.

LeBron James recorded a triple-double and Cleveland improved to 10-0 in the play-offs with a 108-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

James had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Cavs became the fourth team to start the postseason with 10 straight wins, joining the Los Angeles Lakers (1989, 2001) and San Antonio Spurs (2012). Playing at a different level than the rest of the field, the Cavs are now two wins from appearing in their second straight NBA Finals and trying to end Cleveland’s 52-year sports championship drought.

Kyrie Irving scored 26 and Kevin Love 19 for Cleveland, which swept Detroit and Atlanta and has beaten Toronto by a combined 50 points in two games.

“I don’t think it feels like a streak,” James said of the Cavs’ rampage through the play-offs. “It feels like we won one game, we won the next game. We’ve taken one step at a time. We’ve tried to take care of business.”

The Raptors managed to hang around longer than in Game 1, when they were blown out by 31. But Toronto lack the necessary firepower to stay with a Cleveland team playing their best basketball this season, one that James likened to a football team.

“We play offence, we play defence and we’re great at special teams as well,” he said.

Game 3 is Saturday in Toronto, where Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry can only hope the rims at Air Canada Centre are kinder than the ones in Quicken Loans Arena.

Lowry scored 10 points and is shooting 8 of 28 from the field, including 1 of 15 on 3-pointers in the series. However, he isn’t hanging his head.

“I’m super confident,” he said. “I missed countless threes that I thought were good and that I made last series. That’s why I’m not down on myself. We’ve got a game on Saturday, and I know I’m going to be much more effective. Simple as that.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 for the Raptors, who have had a disastrous debut in the conference finals to this point.

“We’re not quitting,” said coach Dwane Casey. “Everybody can bury us, but we’re not quitting. I refuse to believe that.”

James moved past Shaquille O’Neal into fourth place on the career postseason scoring list, with 5,255 points. Next on the list are Kobe Bryant (5,640), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762) and Michael Jordan (5,987).

It was James’ 15th play-off triple-double, secured when he ran down rebound No. 10 with 8:01 left. He scored on Cleveland’s next possession, and while sitting on the bench during a subsequent timeout, he saluted applauding Cavs fans by pressing his fingers to his lips and touching his heart.

By then, the Cavs, who closed the first half with a decisive 16-2 run, were up 20 and coasting to another easy win in their so-far-spotless spring.

Earlier in the day, James was asked if the Cavs might need a loss to get them ready for the finals.

“We don’t want to lose,” he said.

And the Cavs are playing like it under coach Tyronn Lue, also a perfect 10 in the play-offs.

“It’s not easy,” said Lue, who took over when the Cavs fired David Blatt in January.

The Cavaliers, though, are making it look easy — too easy — during their pristine postseason.

Cleveland’s Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova tweaked his ankle in the second half, but Lue said he should be OK.