CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James punctuated an impressive first half in Game 2 in one of the most fitting ways he could, by throwing down a thunderous dunk that brought the faithful at Quicken Loans Arena to their feet as the clock counted down to zero.
With just 17.3 seconds remaining in the first half, James caught a one-handed pass from power forward Larry Nance Jr. while rolling to the hoop and threw down the crowd-pleasing slam, which gave the Cavaliers a 58-46 lead over the Indiana Pacers after two quarters of play.
That was far from the only dunk James had in the first half.
With 1:21 remaining in the second quarter, James stepped in the passing lane, intercepted the ball from forward Myles Turner at the three-point line and raced in for the right-handed jam.
29 points on a Cavs playoff record 12 made FGs
LeBron doing his part to even the series
58-46 Cleveland leads at half pic.twitter.com/mZeoDaqoED
Earlier in the second quarter, James caught a pass from guard Kyle Korver at the top of the key, drove past an Indiana defender and rose up in the lane for the right-handed slam.
LeBron rolls to the rim for the stuff!
LBJ is up to 25 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST in Q2 on @NBAonTNT.#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/eGSdtLyadm
James scored 29 points, pulled down eight rebounds and assisted on four baskets in 20 minutes of action during the first half. He converted 12 of his 16 looks from the field, two of his four three-point tries and three shots at the free-throw line.
James had 13 points before anybody else on either team scored in Game 2.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, James’ 16 points in less than the first six minutes of play was the most any player has scored in the last 20 years.
7:45 p.m.-LARRY NANCE JR. HAS MONSTER BLOCK ON TREVOR BOOKER
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for power forward Larry Nance Jr. because he was the type of young, athletic front-court player that could make a positive impact on both ends of the floor, and he lived up to that reputation early in the second quarter of Game 2 of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.
Pacers forward Trevor Booker was backing down a Cavaliers defender and went up for a shot after spinning toward the basket, but Nance was there in help-side and blocked the shot all the way out of bounds.
Larry Nance Jr. goes up high for the SWAT!#WhateverItTakes 36 | #Pacers 25
After outletting to point guard Cory Joseph on the left wing and getting a reentry pass a second later, Booker attempted a left-handed hook shot, but Nance timed his jump perfectly, high-pointed the ball and swatted it out of the air, much to the delight of the 20,562 fans in attendance at The Q.
