LeBron James posted 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists over a full 48 minutes of action Sunday night to push Cleveland to a Game 7 win at TD Garden. The victory locked up a fourth consecutive Eastern Conference title for the Cavs and the eighth banner in a row for James going back to his time with the Heat.
Both the Celtics and Cavs struggled offensively, combining to go 16-of-74 from 3-point range. Jayson Tatum (24 points) and Al Hoford (17 points) carried Boston throughout the game, but they couldn't overcome poor performances from Terry Rozier (four points, 2-of-14 shooting, three turnovers) and Jaylen Brown (13 points, 5-of-18 shooting).
Jeff Green gave James the help he needed, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. But this was about LeBron's greatness. He made timely plays in the second half, whether it was hitting tough shots or finding the open man with pinpoint passing. The Cavs will next play Thursday in the NBA Finals against the winner of Monday night's Game 7 between the Rockets and Warriors.
Take a look back at the best highlights from Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals...
Final: Cavs 87, Celtics 79
10:58 p.m. ET — That LeBron James and-one finish should just about do it. The Cavs are now ahead by double-digits with less than a minutes to go. Cleveland is heading back to the NBA Finals.
10:54 p.m. ET — What a swing. Terry Rozier pushes the ball up the floor and shoots a corner 3-pointer. No good. The Cavs corral the rebound, and LeBron James finds George Hill streaking down the floor for a tough reverse layup.
Cavs 81, Celtics 74 with 1:16 left.
LeBron feeds George Hill to extend the lead!#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/Hvvgs8Um5c — NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2018
10:50 p.m. ET — We are under three minutes in regulation. The situation...
Cavs 78, Celtics 74 with 2:34 on the clock.
10:42 p.m. ET — JAYSON TATUM ON LEBRON JAMES. HE IS NO LONGER A ROOKIE.
JAYSON TATUM OH MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/q1MuM7UaZU — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 28, 2018
10:33 p.m. ET — Could the degree of difficulty be any higher on this Kyle Korver shot? Wow.
10:28 p.m. ET — We have a lead change in the fourth quarter for the first time in this series. Al Horford throws it down on Kyle Korver.
End of third quarter: Cavs 59, Celtics 56
10:21 p.m. ET — The Cavs take the third quarter by a score of 20-13. (Yeah, this is not a high-scoring affair.) LeBron James (23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists) made just about every play possible in the third, from perfect passes to transition blocks. Someone on the Celtics needs to step up and answer the call on the offensive end.
Here we go. Only one quarter left to win the East...
10:14 p.m. ET — OH MY GOODNESS. DO NOT CHALLENGE LEBRON AT THE RIM.
10:05 p.m. ET — A JR Smith triple and Jeff Green 3-point play the old-fashioned way help the Cavs tie the game at 47. Points are hard to come by in this one.
9:58 p.m. ET — Terry Rozier with a tough bucket to kick off the second half.
Halftime: Celtics 43, Cavs 39
9:42 p.m. ET — A low-scoring first half. The Celtics (4-of-19) and Cavs (2-of-17) are both struggling from 3-point range and missing open opportunities. LeBron James has 17 points and 10 rebounds heading into the locker room, and he finally got a little help from Jeff Green (nine points, five rebounds) in the second quarter. Al Horford has 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and Jayson Tatum added 11 points in 20 minutes of action.
One half of Game 7 in the books!#CUsRise 43 | #WhateverItTakes 39
Al Horford: 14 PTS
Jayson Tatum: 11 PTS, 5 REB
LBJ: 17 PTS, 10 REB
Jeff Green: 9 PTS, 5 REB#NBAPlayoffs ➡️ @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/L5YzOoaBq7 — NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2018
9:35 p.m. ET — For the first time in an away game this series, JR Smith sinks a 3-pointer. The Cavs are only down two points despite a rough first half.
9:30 p.m. ET — Jayson Tatum in slow motion? That looks pretty cool.
9:22 p.m. ET — How do the Cavs look offensively so far? LeBron James is 5-of-10 from the field. The rest of the team is 3-of-15. Cleveland is also 1-of-14 from 3-point land to start the game. (Yes, LeBron is responsible for that one make.)
9:15 p.m. ET — Larry Nance Jr. is struggling in pick-and-roll situations. The Celtics will continue to attack and put Al Horford in positions to score.
End of first quarter: Celtics 26, Cavs 18
9:10 p.m. ET — The Celtics put together a strong finish to end the first with a x-point lead. Jayson Tatum has nine points, and Al Horford has already eclipsed his Game 6 total with eight points so far. LeBron James (12 points) is doing damage on the offensive end, but a few defensive lapses created quality looks for Boston.
8:56 p.m. ET — For LeBron James, the 3-point line is just a suggestion.
LeBron lines one up from 3-point land!
Make that 7 for The King as well on @ESPNNBA #WhateverItTakes #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/mL3qovvvEz — NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2018
8:46 p.m. ET — It's a quick 11-4 start for the Celtics, and the Cavs call for a timeout. Jayson Tatum already has seven points in the first four minutes.
8:36 p.m. ET — LeBron James is the greatest Game 7 scorer in NBA history. Can he push the Cavs to yet another Finals appearance? Tipoff coming up next!
In 22 contests when facing elimination (13-9 record), @KingJames is now averaging 34.1 points (highest in league history, minimum 5 games), 10.8 rebounds and 7.4 assists, including at least 40 points in each of the last 3 elimination games.#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/ldCnYLkESt — Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 28, 2018
8:16 p.m. ET — If Celtics fans weren't already pumped up, this should get them ready to go before tipoff.
8:01 p.m. ET — No fancy suits this time, but the Cavs are all business ahead of Game 7.
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics: Game 7 Live Updates, Score and Highlights for 2018 NBA Playoffs
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics
Boston, MA
LeBron James put up 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists to help his Cleveland Cavaliers to an 87-79 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. In a game where points were very hard to come by, James gave his team just enough production to push him to his eighth straight NBA Finals appearance. Jeff Green also added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Cavs. Jayson Tatum had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, but his squad's biggest problem was that it shot a miserable 7-of-39 (17.9 percent) from three-point range.
The best two words in sports are Game 7. On Sunday, the Cavaliers came back from an early 12-point deficit to hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the postseason. Cleveland advances to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season, where they'll await the winner of the Warriors and Rockets in Monday's Game 7.
LeBron James was simply remarkable, as he has been all postseason, finishing the game with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. He'll now head to the NBA Finals for an incredible eighth straight season. Here's a recap of the game, along with some of the best highlights.
Game 7: Cavaliers 87, Celtics 79
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Boston got off to a great start, led once again by rookie Jayson Tatum. He scored nine points in the first quarter as the Celtics built an eight-point lead.
As expected, LeBron James took the lead for the Cavaliers, pretty much single-handedly keeping Cleveland afloat while the role players struggled. LeBron put up a double-double in the first half alone with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
After scoring just six points in Game 6, Al Horford came out much more aggressively in Game 7, scoring 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting in the first half. He took advantage of several mismatches down low, finishing around the basket consistently.
Al to the basket! pic.twitter.com/3IBMOcetfO — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 28, 2018
The Cavs finally went on their run in the second quarter to close the gap to just four points at halftime after trailing by as many as 12.
Things picked up in the third quarter, when the Cavaliers took their first lead of the game. The comeback was punctuated by LeBron's insane block on Terry Rozier and the ensuing stare down.
The Celtics weren't intimidated, however, and they responded with huge dunks, first from Horford.
Then a huge slam from Tatum on LeBron.
JAYSON TATUM OH MY GOODNESS pic.twitter.com/q1MuM7UaZU — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 28, 2018
But in the end, LeBron and the Cavs were simply too much. They put the clamps on defensively and made big plays down the stretch to seal the victory.
Relive Game 7 commentary
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Playoff bracket
Bola.com, Boston - Cleveland Cavaliers menghadapi misi berat pada Gim 7 atau laga penentuan final Wilayah Timur NBA 2017-2018, Minggu (27/5/2018) malam waktu setempat atau Senin (28/5/2018) WIB. Cavs bertekad merebut tiket ke final meskipun laga diprediksi berlangsung keras di markas Celtics, yaitu TD Garden.
Harapan besar fans Cavs lagi-lagi bakal tertuju pada LeBron James. Sang bintang pernah mengantar tim lamanya, Miami Heat, memenangi gim ketujuh di markas Celtics pada 2012. James tampaknya bertekad mengulangi momen manis itu bersama Cavaliers.
"Kami memiliki satu laga lagi supaya bisa bersaing memperebutkan gelar juara, apa lagi yang bisa Anda minta?" kata James, setelah laga keenam kontra Celtics, dua hari lalu.
James sedang memburu catatan selalu tampil di final NBA dalam delapan musim beruntun. Statistik James juga mengesankan, yaitu mencetak rata-rata 34,9 poin pada Gim 7 laga playoff. Alhasil, kontribusi James sangat dibutuhkan pada partai penentuan ini.
Namun, memenangi laga di kandang Celtics bukan misi mudah. Celtics sangat sulit dikalahkan di kandang sendiri pada fase playoff ini. Selain itu, Cavaliers juga akan kehilangan Kevin Love, yang mengalami cedera otak ringan. Cedera itu didapatnya setelah berbenturan kepala dengan pemain Boston, Jayson Tatum.
Statistik juga berpihak pada Celtics. Boston Celtics tak pernah kalah di series saat mereka mengawali dengan keunggulan 2-0. Total, sudah 37 kali mereka melakukannya. Apakah catatan itu bakal bertambah menjadi 38?
"Ini tentang memenangi pertandingan sekarang. Laga tak akan berjalan indah. Anda tak bisa turun ke lapangan dan bermain cantik. Anda harus siap bertarung keras," kata pemain Celtics, Marcus Smart, seperti dilansir ESPN .
"Kami harus siap bermain dengan hidung atau bibir berdarah. Kami harus siap menghadapi pertarungan keras," sambung dia.
Celtics menyadari LeBron James bisa menjadi ancaman bagi timnya. "Dia pemain terbaik. Hal-hal baik tentangnya sulit dirangkum dalam kata-kata," kata pelatih Celtics, Brad Stevens.
Pertandingan NBA antara Boston Celtics kontra Cleveland Cavaliers dapat disaksikan melalui live streaming di O Channel, Senin (28/5/2018) pukul 07.30 WIB.
