Cavaliers Even Series With Bulls, NBA Roundup

The headband returned. The aggressiveness, dunks and dazzling plays all came back, too. LeBron James wasn't going to have a second subpar game.

James attacked from the start and scored 33 points, Kyrie Irving added 21, and the Cleveland Cavaliers evened their semifinal series with Chicago, beating the Bulls 106-91 in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Donning the signature headband he ditched in March, James played like a man possessed. He powered to the basket, leaving Bulls defenders in his wake and keeping the Cavs, missing two starters, from falling into a 2-0 hole. He added eight rebounds and five assists for Cleveland, which led by 25 in the third quarter and withstood a third-quarter charge by the Bulls.

James said the choice to wear the headband was spur of the moment.

"It was in my locker, and I decided to give it a go," he said. "It was time for it to make a comeback."

The Cavs made one, too. For the second straight game, they were without forward Kevin Love (shoulder surgery) and J.R. Smith (two-game suspension), but they had James, and he was more like himself after an "off" opener.

Rockets 115, Clippers 109

Stuck on the bench with four fouls for most of the third quarter, James Harden knew he would have to make up for lost time when he got back on the floor. Harden scored 16 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Houston Rockets to a 115-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night that evened their Western Conference semifinal at one game apiece.

"I knew my team was battling extremely hard and basically it was up to me to go out there and push us forward," Harden said.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who bounced back from a 117-101 loss in the opener. Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Wednesday, May 6 Scoreboard

Cleveland 106, Chicago 91
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS - GAME 2

Houston 115, Los Angeles 109
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS - GAME 2

Thursday, May 7 Schedule

No games scheduled

Friday, May 8 Schedule (All Times Central)

Cleveland at Chicago, 7 p.m.
EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS - GAME 3

Houston at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS - GAME 3