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(Sports Network) - The Washington Wizards have their backs against the wall and need a win tonight, as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Verizon Center in Game 3 of their opening-round series of the NBA playoffs.

After a 93-86 victory in Game 1 of the set, the fourth-seeded Cavaliers crushed No. 5 Washington on Monday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Superstar LeBron James finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists to lead Cleveland to a convincing 116-86 victory and a commanding advantage after two games of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Wizards. James shot 9-of-19 from the floor and finished just one rebound shy of a triple-double, sitting the final six minutes of the fourth quarter when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas ended with 16 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which shot 51.9 percent from the floor while stifling the Wizards into a 37.5 percent effort.

Cleveland has won eight straight playoff games over the Wizards.

Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Darius Songaila had 12 points apiece for the Wizards, while Gilbert Arenas scored just seven points in 24 minutes of action while nursing a sprained wrist suffered late in Game 1.

Washington has dropped three straight Game 3s in the postseason, while the Cavaliers have dropped two of their last three Games 3s.

The Cavaliers have defeated Washington two straight years in the opening round of the playoffs. They were seeded No. 2 last year and swept the seventh-seeded Wizards in the quarterfinals of the conference playoffs. The year before, Cleveland needed six games to dispose of the Wizards. Led by James last season, the Cavs breezed past Washington before beating both New Jersey and Detroit in six games to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals against San Antonio. However, the Spurs broke out the brooms on Cleveland with a sweep for their fourth NBA title in nine years.

Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday at the Verizon Center.

During the regular season, the teams split four contests as both clubs won a pair of games at home.