CLEVELAND (AP) – Flanked by security personnel, one of his own bodyguards and several close friends, LeBron James was escorted from the arena.

He was untouchable.

He could have used the protection earlier.

Bumped and banged by the Wizards on every drive, James scored 32 points, making two tough shots in traffic down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the NBA playoffs with an intense 93-86 win over Washington on Saturday.

Determined to shut up trash-talking Washington guard DeShawn Stevenson, who had called him “overrated” last month, James took a physical pounding. But he led the Cavaliers to their seventh straight postseason win over the Wizards, who had their chances in the fourth but missed 10 straight shots and scored just two points in the final 4:39.

Afterward, James felt no need to rub it in Stevenson’s face.

“93-86,” he said, “is the only words I need to say.”

James scored 20 points – most of them on layups – in the second half to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions, who took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that got off to a physical start and appears to have a long way to go.

Game 2, or Round 2, if you will, is Monday night.

“It’s one game,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. “They drew first blood.”

With the score tied 84-84, James knifed his way down the lane and hit a layup between Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood with 1:37 remaining. Following a miss by Gilbert Arenas, who led the Wizards with 24 points, James powered past Stevenson and dropped a floater with 55 seconds left in the game – and one tick to spare on the 24-second shot clock.

Delonte West made four free throws in the final 15.1 seconds to seal Cleveland’s win.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 22 points and 11 rebounds and West finished with 16 points for the Cavaliers, who, unlike the Wizards, stayed quiet in the weeks leading up to the series. Ilgauskas and West both went 8-for-8 from the line and Cavs (37) shot 20 more free throws than the Wizards (17).

Arenas played 27 minutes and fouled out with 13 seconds to go. Still getting his legs after missing 66 games following knee surgery, Agent Zero tired in the fourth. Jamison had 23 points and 19 rebounds and Stevenson finished with three points on just 1-of-9 shooting.

Spurs 117, Suns 115 (2OT)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Tim Duncan saved the San Antonio Spurs with his first 3-pointer of the season at the end of overtime, and Manu Ginobili hit a layup at the end of the second extra period to send the defending champions past the Phoenix Suns, 117-115 on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series.

The third-seeded Spurs celebrated almost as jubilantly as if they’d won the finals yet again after beating the sixth-seed Suns, their postseason nemesis. The teams will meet again in San Antonio on Tuesday night before the best-of-seven series shifts to Arizona.

This first-round series, which would have been fitting as a Western Conference finals, was the most anticipated. So far at least, it has more than delivered.

Duncan finished with 40 points and 15 rebounds.

“I guess they’re not going to go easy,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Michael Finley sent the Spurs to overtime with a last-second 3 from the wing, tying the game at 93.

The Suns had controlled play for the first three quarters, leading by as many as 16 points despite early foul trouble for Shaquille O’Neal. The Suns had a six-point lead with a quarter left in regulation.

The Spurs took their first lead of the game late in the fourth quarter, but were down 93-90 with 1:10 to go after Leandro Barbosa’s fast-break layup.

With 15 seconds on the clock, Finley tied it at 93 for the Spurs.

Two-time MVP Duncan stole the show in the first overtime. With his team down 104-101, Duncan found himself all alone at the 3-point line. After only a slight hesitation, he fired the ball and made it with 3 seconds to play. It was Duncan’s first 3 of the season. He was 0-of-4 previously.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen, honestly,” Duncan said. “Manu turned the corner, Shaq just totally leaves me and stayed with Manu.”

In the second overtime, Shaq’s dunk tied it at 112 with 1:33 to play. Ginobili’s layup made it 114-112 San Antonio.

Steve Nash missed a key 3 from the corner with less than a minute to play.

With 15 seconds on the clock, the Suns went to sharp shooter Nash, who fired another 3 from the corner, sinking it this time to tie the game at 115.

Then Ginobili drove the lane against Raja Bell and got to the rim, as he often does, almost at will, and his layup fell with 1.8 seconds left for the win.

Hornets 104, Mavs 92

NEW ORLEANS – Chris Paul had 35 points and 10 assists in his first playoff game Saturday night, lifting New Orleans ti a come-from-behind victory over Dallas.

David West, in his first playoff game since he was a rookie reserve, scored 23 points, and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help New Orleans storm back from a 12-point halftime deficit and win going away.

Dirk Nowitzki had his way with New Orleans early and finished with 31 points, but scored only four during Dallas’ fourth-quarter collapse. Josh Howard added 17 points for the Mavericks, a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs in eight seasons and was in the finals two years ago.

Jason Kidd finished with 11 points and nine assists.

But the Mavericks had only nine field goals in the second half and no answer Paul, whose third year in the NBA has included a maiden All-Star game nod and serious consideration for league MVP.