Cleveland Cavaliers 87-79 Boston Celtics
Death, taxes and LeBron James making the NBA Finals.
It’s hard to argue with that after the King willed the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Boston Celtics in a thrilling Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics were aiming for their first Finals appearance since 2010, back when their “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen was wreaking havoc in the NBA. However, LeBron proved to be too much for this star-less version of the Celtics that relied on the sideline genius of Brad Stevens to make things work in the absence of the injured Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
Here’s the full Cleveland vs Boston Game 7 results, as well as more LeBron highlights:
Highlights of the game
Pre-match NBA betting odds pointed to a tight win by the Celtics, and for a good reason: they have never been defeated at home this postseason.
Nonetheless, LeBron’s talent and overall basketball brilliance defy logic and mere stats, and the son of Cleveland showed that as he put up a memorable performance that even Stevens and his Beantown team couldn’t prepare for.
The four-time league MVP recorded another near triple-double performance with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists—the kind of gaudy numbers that he has spoiled us with all season long. He kept the Wine and Gold afloat in the first half and paved the way back for the team after trailing by as much as 12 points.
He had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds at halftime before leading a third-quarter surge that saw them reverse the game and get a three-point lead.
The fourth-quarter was a see-saw affair as the Celtics, boasting their championship pedigree, didn’t get intimidated. Rookie sensation Jayson Tatum—who LeBron said was bound for greatness—led the charge for the C’s, posterizing James before banking a huge three-pointer to restore their lead, 72-71.
THE ROOKIE POSTERIZED THE KING 😱#CUsRise 73 | #WhateverItTakes 76#NBA #NBAPlayoffspic.twitter.com/1vgO3chlV2
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) May 28, 2018
However, the Celts failed to build on the momentum and went scoreless for more than five minutes as the Cavs buckled up defensively.
Cleveland then made the most out of the C’s slump and responded with a 15-2 run to pull away for good and make no sense of the Eastern Conference Finals betting tips that back Boston to get the victory on their home court.
Key statistics
LeBron played all 48 minutes in what was his 100th game of the season. And while he’s obviously exhausted, he was still able to finish with a 50 percent shooting clip.
Coach Stevens said that their plan was to wear James out, but it’s clear that plan didn’t work. After all, LeBron is a tireless cyborg built for moments like this.
“Our goal going into the series was to make him exert as much energy as humanly possible and try to be as good as we can on everybody else,” Stevens said after the game. “For the most part, I thought we were pretty good at that…but he still scored 35. It’s a joke.”
James, nonetheless, got some much-needed help from his teammates. Jeff Green, who started in place of the injured Kevin Love, stepped up and tallied 19 points and eight boards on 7-of-14 shooting. Tristan Thompson was also pivotal, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds while making all his shots.
J.R. Smith, after a forgettable display in Game 6, found his stroke and made 12 points—nine of which came from beyond the arc.
On the other hand, Boston received a huge boost from Tatum with his 24 points, while Horford was also aggressive throughout and dominated the low post en route to 17 points. Yet, the efforts of the two were not enough.
Jaylen Brown was largely ineffective, making only 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting. The same goes for Terry Rozier (four points on 14.3 percent shooting) who didn’t live up to his “Scary Terry” nickname.
What’s next?
The victory gave the Cavs their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance, joining the likes of Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat (also with LeBron) as the only teams to reach the incredible feat.
LeBron, for his part, is only the sixth player to reach eight straight NBA Finals—four with Miami and four with Cleveland. He joins an elite company that includes Bill Russell (10), Tom Heinsohn (9), Sam Jones (9), K.C. Jones (8) and Frank Ramsey (8), all of whom were part of the Celtics’ dynasty in the 1960s.
For what it’s worth, James is the only player to do it after that era.
The Cavs will now wait for the Western Conference Finals results between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. The two are set to play Game 7 at Toyota Center, with the Warriors aiming to join Cleveland for a fourth straight final and the Rockets seeking their first appearance in the big dance since 1995.
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