LeBron is forced to carry Cavaliers

» LeBron INDEPENDENCE, OHIO

James recovered quickly from his neck strain. There’s still too much stress on his back.

He’s carrying the Cavaliers. It’s a springtime tradition.

As has been the case for much of his 15-year career, James has had to perform at an extraordinary level throughout these playoffs, most recently in Cleveland’s Game 2 loss at Boston.

Bouncing back after taking a blow to the jaw from Jayson Tatum’s shoulder that violently twisted his head and sent a chill down the spines of Cleveland fans, James finished with 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

It was not enough, however. His teammates failed him and the Cavs fell into a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kevin Love (22 points, 15 rebounds) helped, so did Kyle Korver (four 3-pointers) and Tristan Thompson (8 points, 7 rebounds). But too many Cavs ranged from mediocre to awful.

If Cleveland is to even the series at home, that has to change starting in Game 3 on Saturday.

“We have to ramp it up,” said J.R. Smith, who didn’t score in Game 2 and committed a critical flagrant foul. “We’re playing too slow. We’re making ’Bron play hero ball, which is tough to do, especially in the Eastern Conference finals.”

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said James “did everything” in practice Thursday, but had left the floor by the time the media was allowed in for interviews. James was spotted in the fitness and training area inside the facility.

Thompson said he loves that Boston is playing “hard and chippy.” But he knows if the Cavs don’t ease the burden on James, this fight could be over sooner than expected.

“Other guys have to contribute and other guys have to step up,” Thompson said. “Of course, it’s a huge luxury having LeBron on our team. At the same time, we have to be ready to play and we have to do our job.”