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In brief: Cavaliers send Celtics to record loss

Cleveland’s LeBron James drives past Boston’s Kendrick Perkins for two of his 21 first-quarter points. He finished with 38. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports
Cleveland’s LeBron James drives past Boston’s Kendrick Perkins for two of his 21 first-quarter points. He finished with 38. (Associated Press)

NBA: LeBron James scored 21 of his 38 points in the first quarter to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Boston 124-95 on Friday night, handing the Celtics their worst home playoff loss ever and taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinals.

James finished with eight rebounds and seven assists. The 21 points in a quarter was a franchise postseason record.

Antawn Jamison had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland.

Rajon Rondo had 18 points and eight assists for Boston.

Game 4 is Sunday in Boston.

•Suns go up 3-0: Goran Dragic scored 23 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the visiting Phoenix Suns took a 3-0 lead over San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals with a 110-96 win. No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series. Game 4 is Sunday night in San Antonio.

Gagne returns, helps Flyers stay alive

Hockey: Simon Gagne made a timely return to the lineup, scoring in overtime to help the Flyers hold off elimination by beating the Boston Bruins 5-4 in Philadelphia in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Former Flyers star Mark Recchi scored twice for the Bruins, including the tying goal with 31.5 seconds left in regulation that made it 4-all.

Game 5 is Monday at Boston.

•Blackhawks rout Canucks: Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored three power-play goals and added two assists as the Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 7-4 at Vancouver, British Columbia, and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. The Blackhawks can advance with a win in Chicago on Sunday.

•Ice Edge back in Coyotes mix: The Ice Edge group is back in the picture as a potential buyer for the Phoenix Coyotes. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says Ice Edge has resumed talks with the city of Glendale, Ariz., over a lease agreement. The Glendale City Council had previously rejected Ice Edge’s proposed deal and approved an agreement with a group headed by Jerry Reinsdorf.

•Record crowd sees Germany edge U.S.: Felix Schutz scored 21 seconds into overtime to give Germany a 2-1 win over the United States in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in front of a record ice hockey crowd in the opening game of the world championship. The attendance of 77,803 broke the record of 74,544 fans who saw a U.S. college game in 2001 at East Lansing, Mich.

Westwood leads Players by one shot

Golf: Lee Westwood ran off three straight birdies to start his back nine on his way to a 7-under-par 65 to build a one-shot lead at The Players Championship in Ponte Verda Beach, Fla., over Heath Slocum, Francesco Molinari of Italy and Ryuji Imada. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had rough rounds and were at 3-under 141, nine shots behind.

•Spectator Tasered: A 36-year-old man attending the second round of The Players Championship was subdued by a Taser. Travis Parmelee, of Jacksonville, Fla., was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting arrest without violence. Course marshals said Parmelee was yelling at players and being belligerent near the 11th hole.

Jankovic reaches final at Italian Open

Tennis: Jelena Jankovic reached the Italian Open final in Rome with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over top-ranked Serena Williams.

Jankovic, ranked No. 7, will play for the title today against Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who defeated Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2.

Jankovic routed Venus Williams on Thursday and is the seventh player to beat the sisters in the same tournament.

•Djokovic retires during quarterfinal: Top-seeded and defending champion Novak Djokovic retired with breathing problems during his quarterfinal match against Filip Krajinovic at the Serbian Open in Belgrade, Serbia. The second-ranked Djokovic said allergies were to blame for his respiratory troubles.

Childress: Deal close to keep Harvick

Auto racing: Richard Childress says he’s close to an agreement that will keep Kevin Harvick with RCR beyond this season. Childress said he hoped to have negotiations with the Sprint Cup points leader wrapped up before the series heads to Charlotte, N.C., this month for the Coca-Cola 600.

•Hamlin wins Nationwide: Denny Hamlin raced to his third straight Nationwide victory at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, pulling away from Kyle Busch with five laps left in the Royal Purple 200.

MLS expanding to Montreal in 2012

Miscellany: Montreal will join Major League Soccer as its 19th team in 2012, and commissioner Don Garber hopes to add a second New York club as early as 2013. Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia, will be expansion teams for 2011.

•Stablemate joins Super Saver: Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver will be joined by stablemate Aikenite at the Preakness, which will give trainer Todd Pletcher another entry in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

•Boxer Khan granted visa: Junior welterweight champion Amir Khan has been granted a visa and will be allowed to fight in the United States for the first time against Paulie Malignaggi on May 15. Khan is from Britain, but his family is of Pakistani descent.