LeBron James again scored more than 40 points in a playoff game, but this time it was good enough to help the Cavaliers overcome the Celtics and even up the Eastern Conference finals series.
James scored 44 points on Monday to lead the Cleveland to a 111-102 win over the Boston in Game 4. Two games earlier, he had 42 points and a triple-double, but his team still lost and were starting to look like nothing they could do would be enough to beat Boston.
But after giving up a 2-0 series lead on the road, Cleveland responded at home and is now back on pace with Boston, with the series tied at two games apiece. The series heads back to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday night.
LeBron Puts Game Away Late
The Celtics got within seven points with 4:29 left in the game, but Cleveland was able to put the game away largely on the back of a couple plays from James, including a 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining that gave the Cavaliers an insurmountable 14-point lead.
After the game, Celtics coach Brad Stevens had nothing but praise for LeBron and his basketball IQ.
“He’s the best in the game at evaluating the court and figuring out what he wants and where he wants it,” said Stevens. “The thing about it is that you just have to battle. You have to make it as hard as possible, because he’s going to find a matchup that he ultimately wants.”
As has typically been the case when the Cavaliers have been successful throughout the playoffs, James got just enough help from his teammates in order to get past the Celtics. Three other players scored in double figures, including 37-year-old Kyle Korver, who contributed 14 points and three blocked shots in 25 minutes off the bench.
“I’ve loved Kyle ever since we made the trade to get him here,” James said in a postgame interview. “He’s doing whatever it takes to try to help up win, with the blocks, with the strips. Obviously his shot making is very key for our team as well, but it’s just the intangibles he’s doing for us defensively.”
Celtics Rue Slow Start
Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting, and all five Celtics starters scored in double figures. But Boston fell behind by 16 points in the first quarter, and while they won each of the remaining periods, they couldn’t fight back from the deep hole they found themselves in early on.
“I think obviously we’ve got to play better than we did,” Stevens said, referring to the many mental mistakes made by his team. “I’ll go through film and we’ll re-look at it and determine the main reasons why we were where we were, but certainly didn’t play a perfect game.”
With the series now tied, the focus will shift back to Boston. The Celtics still have home court advantage, and can put the series away if they manage to win both of their remaining home games.
Despite that fact, The Cavaliers are once again seen as a slight favorite to move on to the NBA Finals. At Ladbrokes, Cleveland is now an 8/13 pick to win the series, with the Celtics fetching 7/5 odds.
That’s hardly an overwhelming advantage for Cleveland, though, and the outcome of each game could now see the balance of the series change dramatically, setting up an exciting conclusion for fans.
“It’s the best two out of three to go to the NBA Finals,” Stevens said. “Doesn’t get better than that.”
