Celtics hit James with their best shot
Shot to jaw staggers star amid a huge half. Cavaliers lose steam, then lead, then game.
BOSTON — LeBron James, shut down by Boston in Game 1, came out swinging Tuesday night.
He poured in the points and breathed life into the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Celtics withstood the barrage and dished out some punishment of their own — including a shot to the jaw that briefly knocked James out of the game — as they took control in the second half for a 107-94 victory and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Terry Rozier added 18 and Al Horford finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds as Boston improved to 9-0 this postseason at TD Garden. The Celtics never have blown a 2-0 lead.
“We’re going to fight,” Rozier said. “At this point we don’t care if we win by half a point. If we win, that’s all that matters.”
Boston withstood a 42point triple-double by James, who added 12 assists and 10 rebounds. He scored 21 of Cleveland’s 27 points in the first quarter, tying his playoff career high for points in a period. His 42 points marked his fifth 40point game of this postseason.
But he didn’t seem to play with the same force after straining his neck in a first-half collision with Jayson Tatum, and the Cavaliers wilted in the sec- ond half, with the Celtics outscoring them 59-39.
“His shoulder hit me square in the jaw. It didn’t affect my game after that,” James said.
“I’ll be fine,” he added. “I’m not going to lose sleep over it. You go out and when you lay everything on the line, at the end of the day, you can live with that. They did what they had to do, and that was protect home, and now it’s our time to try to do that, as well.”
Kevin Love finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland. As expected, Tristan Thompson started in place of Kyle Korver in the hopes his presence could energize what was a sluggish Cavaliers offense in Game 1. Thompson got Cleveland’s first basket and helped limit Horford’s effectiveness on the inside early on.
But he and fellow starters J.R. Smith and George Hill combined for just 11 points on five-of-17 shooting.
Tempers flared with 3:49 to play with Boston leading 97-89. Marcus Morris got in Smith’s face after Smith pushed Horford in the back to prevent a layup. Smith shoved Morris and the pair had to be separated.
Smith was assessed a flagrant foul and both received technical fouls.