The Cleveland Cavaliers got enough firepower from LeBron James and J.R. Smith to gun down the Atlanta Hawks, 97-89, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series on Wednesday.

James led the Cavs to victory with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, including a spectacular soaring slam dunk shot that iced the game with 38 seconds to go. Meanwhile, Smith backed him up off the bench with 28 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 8 out of 12 from long distance.

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While the King was the stable force that steadied Cleveland's ship throughout the game, it was the 12-year veteran Smith, who came from New York via a trade last January, that did the most damage.

Smith unloaded a total of five 3-pointers and a long jump shot in the middle quarters to help the Cavs hang on to the lead, 74-67, going into the final quarter. Then, in the first two minutes of the fourth canto, Smith fired three more to pull them away from an otherwise tight contest and pushed their lead up to as much as 18 points, 85-67.

Atlanta tried to bounce back as they went on a 20-6 rally capped by Kent Bazemore's running layup shot after an assist from Kyle Korver to close within four, 87-91.

But James will not be denied as he soared in the middle of the lane for an uncontested slam dunk, sealing the game for Cleveland.

Aside from losing the opening game at home, the Hawks suffered another setback as its playoffs leading scorer and number one James defender DeMarre Carroll went down with a left leg injury while driving toward the basket with under five minutes remaining in the game.

Game 2 will be on Friday at 8:30 p.m. E.T.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA Playoffs, NBA Playoffs 2015, Eastern Conference Finals, cleveland cavaliers, Lebron James