CLEVELAND -- The Richard Jefferson power drive, that was the moment it crossed over from impressive to ridiculous.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were a little defiant in the past week as they insisted they were not just a 3-point shooting team. In fact, it might’ve been the quickest way to turn LeBron James into a grump during the Cavs’ eight-day break leading into the Eastern Conference finals. But their record-setting long-range shooting against the Atlanta Hawks in the East semifinals, both in volume and accuracy, made the protestations hard to buy.

So perhaps it was to send a message -- or more likely it was because they could exploit the Raptors' rim protection -- but the Cavs turned Game 1 of the East finals into a 115-84 rout with their relentless interior play.

With Toronto clearly concerned about defending the perimeter and the Cavs stretching the floor with their host of shooters, Cleveland put on a clinic in high-percentage offense. And it happened with the same vicious precision as the long-game takedown in the previous round.

Isolation drives, back cuts, transition, blow-bys, lobs, putbacks. They just kept coming, with the Cavs tying an NBA record by winning their 16th consecutive Eastern Conference playoff game. James, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova ... they all got into the attack.

The nadir for the Raptors came at the end of the Cavs’ 22-2 first-half run, when the 35-year-old Jefferson couldn’t help himself. The Cavaliers forward went to the rim and attempted to dunk on James Johnson as if it was 2004 again. Johnson fouled Jefferson, staving off the embarrassment of potentially missing the dunk, but the gumption said it all.

James went 7-of-7 in the first half, the distance of the baskets averaging just 16 inches. Irving went 8-of-11. In all, the Cavs made 20 of their first 27 shots and 17 of their first 21 attempts in the paint. The stretched-out and fatigued Raptors were a step slow and a step out of position all evening.

When it was over, James had posted the most efficient shooting playoff game of his career, making 11-of-13 and scoring 24 points. Irving settled for 11-of-17 and 27 points.

Through three quarters, the Cavs shot 62 percent and scored 48 points in the paint, and then they cruised to the finish.