James scores 46, Cavs push series to Game 7
CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 46 points and preserved his reign atop the Eastern Conference for at least one more game as the Cleveland Cavaliers shook off losing all-star Kevin Love with a head injury and beat the Boston Celtics, 109-99 on Friday night to force a Game 7.
James, playing in perhaps his final game for the Cavs in Cleveland, delivered another sensational performance – he added 11 rebounds and nine assists while playing all but two minutes – to avoid elimination and delay any decisions about his future.
The king is not dead, and he still has a chance to make his eighth straight NBA Finals.
“It feels good just to be able to play for another game,” James said. “Like I’ve always said, Game 7 is the best two words in sports. … We should relish the opportunity and have fun with it.”
This back-and-forth series, in which home court has meant everything, will have a climatic conclusion Sunday at TD Center, where the Celtics are 10-0 this postseason.
“We have one game to be able to compete for a championship, and what more could you ask for?” James said. “If I’d have told you at the beginning of the season we only needed one game to make the NBA Finals, we’d take it.”
George Hill added 20 points, and Jeff Green 14 for the Cavs. They won their eighth straight at home and will play their second Game 7 of these playoffs.
Terry Rozier paced the Celtics with 28 points, and Jaylen Brown had 27.
The Celtics were still within seven in the final three minutes before James made consecutive three-pointers, punctuating the second by pounding his chest with both fists.
Just for good measure, he added a threepoint play and then was taken out of the game to a rousing ovation and chants of “Cavs in 7!”
Boston’s improbable run through the postseason without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward will now take the Celtics back home, where they play with more intensity, togetherness and before fans hungry to see an 18th title banner raised to their arena’s rafters.
Love went out with a head injury in the first quarter, forcing Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to juggle his rotations and keep James on the floor longer than he wanted to. The three-time champion played the first 35 minutes without a break and then endured the final eight while nursing a sore lower leg.
Backed by a sea of towel-waving fans wearing white “Cleveland Whatever It Takes” Tshirts, James did just that to push the series to Boston, where he has had some of his biggest moments.
In 2014, he had 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in Game 6 for Miami, which went on to win Game 7 and the NBA title. He also scored 45 in a Game 7 loss for Cleveland in 2008.
Paul won’t play in Game 6: The Houston Rockets will be without star guard Chris Paul for Game 6 because of a strained hamstring, a huge blow for a team trying to close out the Golden State Warriors.
Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s victory that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Eric Gordon, the star of Game 5, will start in Paul’s place Saturday night. He started 30 games this season while Paul and James Harden dealt with injuries.