LeBron James scored 44 points, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar atop a postseason list and helped the Cleveland Cavaliers even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 on Monday night with a 111-102 victory over the Boston Celtics, who must be looking forward to getting home. Pushed on by a raucous crowd, the Cavs held off Boston’s comeback in the fourth quarter and squared a series that is now effectively a best-of-three.
Cleveland are trying to become the 20th team out of 300 to overcome a 2-0 deficit and James, who has already orchestrated two such rallies, is a step closer to a third. But to do it again the Cavs will have to win in Boston, where the Celtics are 9-0 this postseason.
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Kyle Korver added 14 points with several hustle plays, and Tristan Thompson had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland. Jaylen Brown scored 25 and Boston had five scorers in double figures, but the Celtics fell behind by 19 in the first-half and didn’t have enough to catch Cleveland. And, of course, they didn’t have James, who moved past Jabbar (2,356) for the most field goals in playoff history. James also recorded his 25th career postseason game with at least 40 points, his sixth in this postseason.
NBA (@NBA) Kevin Love picks out LeBron James with the full court chest pass in tonight's #AssistOfTheNight! #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/GjoqgqSsFE
Like most observers, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue has been stunned but not necessarily disappointed by the number of lopsided wins in the playoffs, especially in the Conference finals.
The first six games between Boston-Cleveland and Houston-Golden State were decided by an average of 24 points. The Warriors won Game 3 on Sunday night by 41, the largest margin of victory in playoff franchise history. “It does surprise me,” he said. “All four teams are really good. But the home court has shown it’s been a factor.”
Game 5 is on Wednesday night at TD Center.
Kyle Korver says that he's going to do "whatever it takes" to help the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals, including diving for the ball. (0:29)
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James has reached a sublime level that few athletes have ever achieved: He has normalized absolute greatness.
On Monday, James scored 44 points for the Cavaliers in a vital Eastern Conference finals victory -- 111-102 over the Boston Celtics to tie the series at 2-2. It was his sixth 40-point game in the 15 he has played this postseason. He did it playing a version of big brother ball that some like to criticize him for not exploiting at every chance, scoring 13 baskets in the paint, the second most in his playoff career.
He now has 22 30-point playoff games and four 40-point playoff games against the glorious Celtics franchise, moving into Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West territory. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most baskets in postseason history (in five fewer games). He already has the most points and steals among anyone in playoff history.
And when it was over, there was a collective shrug. James was nonchalant after the game, talking about the need to take some series momentum to Boston for Game 5. He spent significantly more time after the game praising Kyle Korver (14 points, three blocks) and Tristan Thompson (13 points and 12 rebounds, to go with strong defense) than talking about anything he did.
In the locker room as he iced his body after yet another 40-minute outing, James was talking to his 3-year-old daughter, Zhuri, on FaceTime when she asked to talk to Kevin Love. James passed the phone to Love and Zhuri complimented Love on his game, which included 3-of-12 shooting, five turnovers and five fouls.
"I think you meant to say that to your dad," Love said. "I don't know what game you were watching."
LeBron James combined efficiency with volume in another stellar postseason performance in Game 4 against Boston. David Maxwell/EPA
Not only is little Zhuri immune from her father's routine awesomeness, Love's compliment was about the only praise coming from James' teammates. They're so used to seeing it, it doesn't require remarks.
Thompson's excellent game -- he had two of the Cavs' eight blocks, one of the reasons the Celtics missed a frustrating 19 shots in the paint in Game 4 -- got him invited to the podium. There he was asked about James' game ... on the eighth question.
"It's been huge," Thompson said. "He's the captain of our team."
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That's accurate. But James had just played a game that would've been the greatest career performance for about 99 percent of the NBA, and Thompson moved through remarking on it like he would any other routine task. He was hardly alone.
Korver held court for 15 minutes after the game. He talked about being compared to Dikembe Mutombo, golf, how his dive on the floor for a loose ball reminded people of Pete Rose and how he liked being 36 years old way more than he likes being 37 -- "I wish I was 36; I loved being 36" -- and only mentioned James' incredible game in passing.
play 0:29 Korver jokes: 'I'm going to be hurting tomorrow' Kyle Korver says that he's going to do "whatever it takes" to help the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals, including diving for the ball.
James is averaging 32 points, 6.8 rebounds and 9 assists on 54 percent shooting, including 39 percent from 3-point range, in a conference finals series in which his team is fighting an uphill battle that's as challenging as any East series he has played in eight years. Yet there was some discussion about how he had six turnovers and just one assist after halftime on Monday.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens had to defend his defensive strategies against James -- Boston switched on pick-and-rolls and it sometimes left an undersized Terry Rozier on James -- as if James hasn't scored 1,107 career playoff points against the Celtics franchise and vaporized the organization the past four times he has seen it in the playoffs.
LeBron James With No Defensive Switch - This Series LeBron James struggled in Games 1 and 2 when he wasn't able to get a switch against his initial defender. He has torched the Celtics over the past two games in those situations, however, going 16-of-23 from the field with no defensive switch in the half-court offense. Games 1-2 Games 3-4 PPG 11.0 21.0 FG pct 36% 70% >>In half-court offense
When taken with a little perspective, it's hard to comprehend. But it's James' own fault; he has been so great for so long that he has turned transcendent into mundane.
This week, a former student at James' high school in Akron, Ohio, started a GoFundMe account looking to raise money to erect a statue in James' honor in the city. He is the most famous resident in the history of the entire region. He has donated millions to its schools and children. And two years ago, he won Cleveland its first pro sports title in 52 years. That he doesn't already have a statue is an upset.
"Any time I'm in the same breath with the greats," James said about passing Abdul-Jabbar, "I know you guys hear me say it over and over, it's just humbling."
Maybe no one is saying it enough.
Are you ready to do 'Whatever It Takes' for the East Finals? Playoff tickets at Cavs.com/tickets.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James has three chances to win two more games and get to his eighth straight NBA Finals.
The Celtics can't like the sound of that.
James bullied his way to 44 points and the Cavaliers beat the Celtics 111-102 Monday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at The Q. The series shifts to Boston on Wednesday all tied at two.
"We like what we're doing defensively," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. " We've just got to do a better job taking care of the basketball."
The Cavs, shooting for their fourth straight conference title, led this game by 19 in the first half but suffered through 19 turnovers and some harrowing moments.
James' 3 with 1:47 remaining put the finishing touches on this one. The shot also gave him his sixth playoff game this season (and 25th of his career) of 40 or more points.
The Celtics were as close as seven with 4:10 left before Tristan Thompson (13 points, 12 boards) dunked off a pass from Kevin Love, and James stole the ball (after his own turnover) for a layup with 3:31 remaining.
George Hill followed by making a teardrop in the lane at 2:36.
The Celtics are now 1-6 on the road in this postseason. The good news for them: Two of the last three games in this series will be on their court, where they're 9-0.
"It's the best two out of three to go to the NBA Finals," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "Doesn't get any better than that."
Jaylen Brown led them with 25 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum added 17, Terry Rozier scored 16 points with 11 assists, and Al Horford contributed 15 points.
Kyle Korver scored all 14 of his points in the first half. By halftime, he was shooting 9-of-9 going back to the start of Game 3 and was 6-of-6 from 3-point range. He made two 3s Monday and missed all three of his shots in the second half.
Hill had a huge game with 13 points, four boards and three assists. Love finished with nine points and 11 boards. He committed six turnovers, was called for five fouls, and shot 3-of-12.
James shot 17-of-28 from the field and was 9-of-13 at the foul line. He also turned it over seven times (yes, these were a real problem -- Boston scored 19 off of the Cavs' turnovers). He added five boards and three assists.
"He's the best in the game at evaluating the court and figuring out what he wants and where he wants it," Stevens said.
"If you look at the four teams in the postseason now, Houston is trying to find mismatches, Golden State is trying to find mismatches, Boston, and us as well," James said. "We're all trying to find mismatches for us to try to be successful offensively. It's not much of a secret."
James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2,356 field goals) for the most baskets in NBA postseason history. The record-breaking basket was a 22-footer with 3:11 left in the second quarter.
James is already far and away the NBA's all-time leading scorer in the playoffs, entering Game 4 leading Michael Jordan by more than 600 points. This was James' 106th playoff game of 30 or more points, just three behind Jordan's league-best 109. He scored nine in the fourth.
This was was the first game this series that was decided by less than 10 points. Obviously (given Boston's perfect record at TD Garden this postseason) all four games have been won by the home team in this series.
The Cavs mauled Boston on the glass -- 47-37 -- and scored 50 points in the paint to Boston's 38.
Suffice it to say, the first quarter was not the start the Celtics envisioned -- given the 30-point beatdown they took Saturday. While James was zipping around all over the place (11 points, 4-of-4 shooting), Tatum, Horford, Marcus Smart, and Brown were a combined 1-of-16 from the field. Tatum and Brown each missed dunks (there was more of that later); Horford blew a layup.
The Cavs led 34-18 after one quarter. Korver, who was victimized by Brown in Game 1, blocked Brown twice in the first half. Korver later made one of the plays of the game, diving for a loose ball after racing the length of the floor to get it late in the third quarter.
"That's a guy that's all about winning, and whatever it takes to win," Lue said.
The Celtics made six 3s in the second quarter and got as close as nine, but it was 68-53 Cleveland at halftime (the most points the Cavs have scored in a half for the entire postseason). James scored another 11 in the second period and Korver erupted for 12 points.
Six Cleveland turnovers kept it relatively close in the third. Love picked up his fifth foul with 7:40 left in the period and the Cavs ahead by 12. The Celtics cut their deficit to seven, but, again, were foiled by James. He went for 13 points in the period and the Cavs were ahead 89-76 heading to the fourth.
Smart is struggling. After his 2-of-9 effort in Game 3, he shot 2-of-8 on Monday and missed his first six shots.
Game 5 is at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at Boston's TD Garden.
