LeBron James had a nasty head cold. The Nets had a bigger headache.

Cleveland's defense kept New Jersey's Big 3 from getting into an offensive flow and James sniffled his way to 21 points as the Cavaliers opened the Eastern semifinals with an 81-77 victory over the Nets on Sunday.

The Cavaliers came in well rested after their sweep of Washington in the first round, and they needed every ounce of energy to hold off the Nets, who pulled within 79-77 on Vince Carter's two free throws with 19.5 seconds left.

But James, who came down with a cold during Cleveland's time off, scored on a tough drive to put Cleveland up by four, and on New Jersey's final possession, the Cavaliers clamped down on defense.