LeBron James shines, Cavs bench steps up to beat Celtics, stave off elimination, force Game 7

Amid all the uncertainty and chaos surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, there’s been one thing they’ve been able to count on. When they’ve needed a big game in a big moment, LeBron James would be there. And with their backs against the wall, facing elimination at the hands of the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday, once again, James was there. James weathered an early storm by the visiting C’s, took over the game by playing point-center with a reserve-heavy second unit early in the second quarter, was halfway to a 50-point triple-double by halftime, and kept Boston on his hip from there. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and elimination-game superhero played all but one minute and 54 seconds of Game 6, scoring 46 points — a career-high in an elimination game — on 17-for-33 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and a block to lead the Cavaliers to a 109-99 Game 6 win. It was James’seventh 40-point game of the 2018 postseason, tying Michael Jordan for the most such games in a single postseason since 1989. Fitting, right?

With the Cavs’backs against the wall, James pushed the issue all night to fight out of the corner, attacking Celtics defenders big and small with an array of moves off the bounce, in the half-court and in transition. Coach Tyronn Lue and the rest of the Cavs organization needed everything he could muster, and he offered it, scoring or assisting on 23 points in the second quarter to erase an early Boston lead and put Cleveland on a path to Game 7. He unofficially punched the team’s ticket for Boston by drilling a step-back 3-pointer over the outstretched arm of Game 5 hero Jayson Tatum with 1:40 to go in the fourth, and celebrated it like a man in total control of his game, his surroundings, his opponent and, well, everything. And this time, he had help.

Point guard George Hill turned in his most aggressive and effective game of the series, scoring 20 points on 7for-12 shooting with a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 34 minutes. Forwards Jeff Green (14 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks) and Larry Nance Jr. (10 points, seven rebounds, two steals) also offered energy and finishing prowess off the bench for the Cavs, who led by as many as 16 points. Cleveland controlled the game for the balance of the final three quarters with LeBron’s steady hand at the controls, despite losing All-Star power forward Kevin Love midway through the first after a head-to-head collision with Tatum.