LeBron James on pace for a 50-point night. He's got 25 on 9-17 from the field. But Jeff Green has stepped up in a big way, scoring nine points on 3-7 from the field. Played 18 minutes in the first half, as Kevin Love was in the back being looked at.
Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
It was win or go home for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they welcomed the Boston Celtics into Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night, and they are not going home. Instead, the series will head back to Boston for a winner-take-all Game 7, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
It was a frantic, physical game, with Kevin Love and Jayson Tatum clashing heads in the opening few minutes. The blow knocked Love out for the remainder of the night. Later, Terry Rozier suffered a nasty sprained ankle, and LeBron James appeared to suffer a leg injury of some sort.
But in the end, the Cavs were able to pull away for a 109-99 victory to tie the series at 3-3. LeBron James -- who else -- led the way with 46 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Game 6: Cavaliers 109, Celtics 99
Unlike the first two games in Cleveland, the first quarter in Game 6 went the Celtics' way, as they got 15 points from Jaylen Brown to take a 25-20 lead.
Jaylen Brown has stepped up early!
15 PTS on 6-8 shooting in the 1st. #NBAPlayoffs | #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/VbLDbAyqa9 — NBA (@NBA) May 26, 2018
Unfortunately, there was a nasty clash of heads between Jayson Tatum and Kevin Love, which sent the Cavs power forward to the locker room. The Cavs later announced that Love would not return so that he could be evaluated for a concussion.
UPDATE: Per #Cavs Kevin Love experienced a hit to the head. Is continuing to be evaluated for a concussion & so as a precaution, he will be held out of play for the remainder of tonight’s game. — Allie Clifton (@FSOAllieOop) May 26, 2018
The Cavaliers, however, turned things around in the second quarter. The first play was a massive alley-oop from LeBron to Jeff Green, and the Cavs never looked back from there. They turned the five-point deficit into an 11-point lead at the half. "The King" played the entire first half, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.
In the third quarter, the Cavs looked at times like they would pull away, but the Celtics were able to keep things from getting out of hand. They started to knock down some shots and were able to cut the deficit back down to 10 points at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a frantic, back and forth affair. The Celtics kept fighting, often cutting the lead under double digits. But they were never able to get closer than seven points, as the Cavs always had an answer on the offensive end. Eventually, LeBron hit a few dagger 3s to slam the door shut.
7 point game!
Tatum slams home on the break to cut the lead to 97-90.#NBAPlayoffs | #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/Akx4qPLz81 — NBA (@NBA) May 26, 2018
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2018 NBA Playoffs Bracket
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