LeBron James, Cavs show no rust in Game 1 romp over Celtics
BOSTON – Give LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 10 days off.
Give them one day off.
Give them no days off.
Road game, home game, it doesn’t matter.
Play the game in a park. Play it in a sold-out arena.
Right now, the Cavs will win whenever, wherever.
Following a 10-day layoff between series, Cleveland hammered the Boston Celtics 117-104 Wednesday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals series.
The Cavaliers seized home-court advantage quickly and easily. They led 30-19 after the first quarter, were ahead 57-31 late in the second quarter and pushed their lead to 71-43 early in the third quarter.
“The days off have been efficient,” Cavs coach Ty Lue said before the game. “We were able to work on some things offensively, work on some things defensively. It was good for us. We got a chance to get healthy. I feel good.”
Game 2 is Friday in Boston (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Latest NBA coverage:
Ex-NBA players concerned about LaVar's role in Lonzo Ball's development
A Spurs fan seriously filed a lawsuit against Zaza Pachulia for injuring Kawhi Leonard
NBA mock draft 2.0: Post-lottery, is Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball at No. 1?
Boston cut Cleveland’s lead to 110-94 with 4:12 left in the fourth quarter. The damage was done and the loss drained the Celtics of some electricity following their Game 7 victory against Washington on Monday and their prize of the No. 1 pick in Tuesday’s draft lottery.
It’s no surprise the Cavs won a road game. James’ teams have now won a road game in 29 consecutive series and going back to last season’s NBA Finals, the Cavs have won seven consecutive road playoff games.
"It’s hard to believe, but he’s better than when I got in the league," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, now in his fourth year in the NBA. "A lot better. ... I didn’t think he could get any better after that."
Playing with the determination necessary to reach the Finals for the seventh straight season, James scored 23 of his game-high 38 points in the first half on 10-for-12 shooting and all 10 makes from in the paint. He also had seven assists and nine rebounds. He has scored at least 33 points since Game 3 of the Indiana series.
"He's really setting the tone for us in these playoffs. We're kind of just riding it," Lue said. "Kevin (Love), Kyrie (Irving), everybody else you know is just filling in. Tonight, Kevin was huge for us. When LeBron’s playing at this level, other guys just have to be solid."
Love, who found his three-point shot in the third quarter, had a playoff career-high 32 points and added 12 rebounds, and forward Tristan Thompson had a playoff career-high 20 points and nine rebounds.
“It was definitely our two bigs that set the tone," James said. "Kev, Double-T, they were phenomenal.”
Stevens had several concerns coming into the game: Cleveland’s improving defense, three-point shooting, transition offense, rebounding and James.
His fears were realized. Cleveland outrebounded Boston 44-40 and held them to 35.6% shooting, including just 2 for 16 on three-pointers, in the decisive first half.
Celtics All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas was 3 for 11 and center Al Horford 1 for 8 in the first two quarters as the Cavaliers tried to force the ball out of Thomas’ hands.
“You can see that in all their blitzing,” Stevens said of Cleveland’s defense before the start of the series. “They can blitz you from any which way and they’re always finding the next threat well. It’s a compliment to their coaching. It’s a compliment to their players, the desire to take away the threats. They’ve done a really good job.
The Cavaliers entered the game as the best three-point shooting team in percentage and makes per game. But they made just two of their first nine threes.
With Boston focused on Cleveland’s long-range shooting, the Cavs had open lanes to the basket and took advantage. Cleveland’s three-point shooting slump didn’t last long. Love made 5 of 7 threes in the third quarter.
Celtics guard Avery Bradley and forward Jae Crowder led Boston with 21 points each, and Thomas added 17. While Boston didn't play its best game coming off a seven-game series against Washington that ended Monday, James said of the Cavs: "I don't even think we played that great tonight."
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.
