LeBron James gets the steal at one end and switches hands in mid-air for the fancy finish at the other in this ‘More Driven Highlight’ driven by Goodyear.
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LeBron James has shouldered an unreasonably heavy burden for his Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the 2018 NBA playoffs, so what now lies ahead is nothing new.
He must be perfect. Twice in a row. Against a Boston Celtics team that can taste its ahead-of-schedule trip to the NBA Finals.
Boston's 96-83 win Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals puts James and the Cavs on the brink of elimination and all that'll come with it: speculation about the franchise's future, James' plans for the final phase of his career and the fate of relevant basketball in Cleveland as we know it.
Anything less than James' best, and the Cavs are finished.
James wasn't perfect Wednesday, but he was plenty good, certainly better than his teammates. Even if that isn't saying much.
He put up 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists. His six turnovers hurt, but many of those were the result of Boston's disruptive length and shrewd double-teams, which shuttered passing windows as soon as they opened. Considering how no other Cavalier had more than six made field goals or two assists, you can excuse James' mistakes in light of the load he carried.
It was enough to wear anyone down.
George Hill and JR Smith combined for two made buckets and respective on-court plus-minus figures of minus-21 and minus-19. Head coach Tyronn Lue held Kyle Korver out for the entire first and third quarters, instead riding Smith on the theory that...well...it's hard to say.
The Celtics have targeted Korver on defense, but the Cavs scored a pitiful 83 points in Game 5. Cleveland needed his gravity and shooting. Lue's explanation for holding out one of his best offensive weapons was charitably curious:
Stranger still, Lue rested James and Kevin Love together to start the fourth quarter, allowing the Celtics to expand their lead from 16 to 21 before James checked back in for Smith.
Defensively, the Cavs competed, holding Boston scoreless for nine straight possessions in the fourth quarter and yielding only a 36.5 percent conversion rate on the night. That defensive effort should have been enough to win. Instead, because James was less than perfect—and because his supporting cast abandoned him yet again—it produced a blowout loss.
The contrast in star dynamics between Cleveland and Boston could hardly be more pronounced.
Jayson Tatum led the Celts with 24 points, but he didn't have to play at a world-beating level for his team to win. Boston had four other scorers in double figures, great defensive effort from all parties involved and brushed off a 3-of-15 dud from Terry Rozier in the easy victory. These banged-up Celtics don't have a transcendent star, but that means they don't have to rely on one for survival. They can win in more than one way.
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Cleveland is different. Its success depends on James scoring in droves, setting up teammates who can't create for themselves and establishing a contagious defensive tone. All are tributaries of the same river: Victory flows from James and James alone.
So, what now?
Cleveland has to play Korver more, and it might want to avoid letting Semi Ojeleye dictate its rotations. It could also move Love back to center to space the floor and create more scoring chances. Boston pushed the Cavs away from that look earlier in the series by targeting Love and Korver on defense, but when you score only 83 points in the bogged-down slog that was Game 5, anything that loosens up the offense is worth reconsidering.
Ultimately, everything comes back to James.
Can he go for 44 points if Boston keeps its help defenders glued to shooters?
Can he hand out a dozen dimes and pick his spots with an 8-of-12 shooting night like he did in Game 3?
Even when James both scored with volume and distributed efficiently in Game 2 (42 points on 16-of-29 shooting, 12 assists and 10 rebounds), the Cavs still lost by 13. That's most troubling of all for the Cavaliers. Even when James does everything, it doesn't assure a good result.
Counting James out has been a sucker's game for a long time, but the straits appear to be as dire as they've ever been. The Celtics are 10-0 at home in these playoffs, and James and the Cavs will have to defend home court in Game 6 and then close this thing out with a win in Boston.
James will have to do all of that with fatigue creeping in:
It's just...too much. No one can log 82 games in his 15th season, drag a deeply flawed and dubiously organized roster to the brink of elimination and stave it off with two do-or-die wins. It's impossible. It's unreasonable. It's too much to ask of anyone.
So, of course, we're asking it of James.
Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference, Cleaning the Glass or NBA.com unless otherwise specified.
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The Celtics have a "Jekyll and Hyde" situation going on during this year's NBA playoff run: monsters at home, meek on the road, Fortunately for the C's, they were back in the friendly confines of TD Garden for Game 5 against the Cavs on Wednesday night.
Brad Stevens' squad got back on track in a big way after dropping both games in Cleveland, routing the Cavs 96-83. The C's will take a 3-2 lead back to Quicken Loans Arena knowing that a potential Game 7 will be in Beantown. Jayson Tatum (24 points) and Jaylen Brown (17) led a balanced Boston offense; five different Celtics scored in double figures.
NBA PLAYOFFS: Wednesday wrap | Scores, schedule, live updates
All eyes once again turned to LeBron James in Game 5. The Cavs superstar approached his series averages with 26 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, but his supporting cast outside of Kevin Love (14 points) was invisible. The rest of the Cleveland roster barely outscored James and Love (43-40) against a tough Celtics defense.
SAY WHAT? Lue has bizarre explanation for Korver not playing in first quarter
Sporting News provided live updates from Game 5 of Cavs vs. Celtics.
Cavs vs. Celtics: Score, highlights, updates
Game 5 box score
Final score: Celtics 96, Cavaliers 83
11:09 p.m. ET — Al Horford called game:
10:58 p.m. ET — Getting a head start on Game 6 prep? LeBron is on the bench with less than three minutes remaining and the Cavs down 18.
10:52 p.m. ET — The Cavs are hanging around, but it doesn't feel as though LeBron can drag this team to a comeback win. The C's are ready to put this one away.
End of third quarter: Celtics 76, Cavaliers 60
10:30 p.m. ET — The Celts are 12 minutes away from taking a 3-2 series lead to Cleveland. Jayson Tatum leads Boston scorers with 21 points; he's one of five Boston players in double figures. James (24) and Love (14) have combined for 38, but the rest of the roster has 22.
10:25 p.m. ET — Twitter has opinions about LeBron as the Celtics pull away from the Cavs:
LeBron has given up. Turn it off — Jack (@Bxtremelynimble) May 24, 2018
Lebron has given up on this trash ass team. They don’t deserve this man at all. — salah (@fawzar_) May 24, 2018
Lebron is tired and done for the Gme — King (@C0mplexSocieTY8) May 24, 2018
10:09 p.m. ET — The Celts are in command despite this shooting performance by Terry Rozier:
Terry Rozier's shooting chart is less than optimal. pic.twitter.com/C49qbiuPDi — Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) May 24, 2018
Halftime: Celtics 53, Cavaliers 42
9:46 p.m. ET — Boston is in control at the break. It held Cleveland to 41 percent shooting from the field overall. James and Kevin Love were 11 for 19 combined, but everyone else was 4 for 17.
9:40 p.m. ET — The Celtics have hit their last three shots, including two by Marcus Smart, and have pushed their lead to 14.
9:24 p.m. ET — Video of Nance vs. Morris and Rozier:
Refs gotta let Nance and Morris square up at center court pic.twitter.com/spula5HXpe — Bruh Report (@BruhReport) May 24, 2018
9:17 p.m. ET (UPDATED at 9:21 p.m.) — This game just got heated. Larry Nance Jr. took exception to some Marcus Morris trash talk and shoved Morris in the back. Terry Rozier came running in and shoved Nance, and everyone gathered in a corner. The officials are going to the video to sort it all out. . . . and Nance, Morris and Rozier are all assessed technical fouls.
Marcus Morris vs. Larry Nance Jr., with Terry Rozier joining the fray. (Getty Images)
End of first quarter: Celtics 32, Cavaliers 19
9:08 p.m. ET — Boston grabs a big early advantage fueled by six 3-pointers. Jaylen Brown had a wide-open look on this trey:
bballsociety_: Who was LeBron Guarding? ESPN NBA Playoff: Game 5: Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics https://t.co/n4WbwEyXZ6 pic.twitter.com/BpDoLNPtjP — FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) May 24, 2018
8:55 p.m. ET — Aron Baynes plays rim protector, then hustles down the other end for a putback bucket:
Baynes getting it done on both ends! pic.twitter.com/Xmu9x7J3lr — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 24, 2018
8:40 p.m. ET — Game 5 is underway at last. Cleveland is going with this starting five:
8:30 p.m. ET — LeBron throwns down a dunk in warmups:
8 p.m. ET — The stars have made their way to Boston:
BOSTON -- The Cavaliers again face elimination in these playoffs, only this time the opponent has two chances to knock them out.
The Boston Celtics owned Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, beating Cleveland 96-83 to take a 3-2 lead in this series. The road team has yet to win a game so far.
If the Celtics break that streak in Game 6 Friday, they'll end the Cavs' three-year run as conference champs and snap LeBron James' string of seven straight Finals.
"I look forward to seeing us respond on Friday night," James said. "That's the only thing I can worry about right now."
Boston coach Brad Stevens made a lineup change and the Celtics played as big as they could personnel wise for as long as they could. The Cavs, well, they shrunk.
"I thought we would play better, but we didn't," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "We didn't play well."
James led Cleveland with 26 points and Kevin Love added 14 points and seven boards. No other Cav reached double figures. Cleveland's other three starters -- George Hill, JR Smith, and Tristan Thompson -- combined for two baskets on 14 shots. Smith and Hill were 2-of-11 from the field, and Jordan Clarkson was 3-of-10 off the bench.
The Celtics won in a blowout despite shooting .365 from the field. Jayson Tatum led them with 24 points and Jaylen Brown added 17. Marcus Smart shot 4-of-17 in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, and naturally recovered to go 5-of-9 with 13 points off Boston's bench.
Stevens started Aron Baynes for Marcus Morris to give Al Horford (15 points, 12 boards) more help, but often played the three of them together and used Smart against Cleveland's point guards.
"We're going to have to play big some," Stevens said. "We wanted to play big a little more. Baynes is a really good defender. He helps in a ton of different ways."
"It was the right move," Lue said.
The Celtics won the rebounding battle 45-39 (after being beaten badly there in Cleveland), and turned the Cavs over 15 times for 15 points. Boston also connected on 13 three-pointers and picked up another 21 points at the foul line (on 23 shots).
There was a brief moment of life in the fourth quarter where the Cavs went on a 9-0 run to trim a 21-point deficit to 12 with 7:50 left. And then Kyle Korver missed a 3, Clarkson missed two, and James missed a layup followed by two turnovers. They trailed 90-73 with 3:35 left and that was it.
"Basketball is a game of runs and that was a bad time to have a bad run," Korver said.
James finished 11-of-22 shooting with 10 boards and five assists in 39 minutes. He committed six turnovers. Lue said he thought James looked tired on Wednesday. This was James' 98th game this season.
"I had my moments," James said. "But I think everybody at this point is tired or worn down or whatever the case may be. ... We had an opportunity, but we didn't make enough plays."
Korver didn't play at all in the first quarter. He finished with seven points in 19 minutes.
"Initially, (Stevens) has been putting (Semi) Ojeleye in, so that's kind of been Kyle's matchup when he comes in the game," Lue said. "(Stevens) didn't pay (Ojeleye) tonight, so it kind of threw us for a loop."
The Celtics are 10-0 at home in the playoffs, so the Cavs were looking for a fast start to quiet things down a bit at TD Garden.
It wasn't to be. Boston connected on six 3s in the first quarter and Cleveland committed five turnovers. The Celtics' young team was rolling by quarter's end. Love scored 10 in the first but was on the bench before it was over with two fouls, and the Celtics led 32-19.
The Celtics were on a 9-0 run and up 17 when Morris momentarily awakened the Cavs. Morris fouled Larry Nance Jr. hard as he was going up to catch a lob from James with 10:47 in the second quarter. Morris seemed to hover over Nance, who was on the ground, and when he got up he shoved Morris. Terry Rozier raced around the melee and shoved Nance from behind. Technicals were awarded to all three players involved.
The Cavs responded by scoring the next nine (Clarkson, yes, he made two 3s) and were as close as seven points, but the half ended with Boston ahead 53-42. The Celtics shot 17-of-45 (.378) in the first half; James scored 16 on 7-of-11 shooting by halftime.
James and Love were the only Cavs starters to make a basket in the first half, and Love didn't score in the second quarter.
: Game 6 is at 8:30 p.m. Friday at The Q.
