LeBron takes Cavs to finals vs Warriors
LeBron James hit two birds with one spectacular performance on Thursday night. He passed Michael Jordan as the NBA’s all-time leading playoff scorer in Cleveland’s 135-102 victory over Boston in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs iced a 4-1 series victory and set a third straight Finals duel with the Golden State Warriors.—
BOSTON— The NBA Finals has its first “three-match,” courtesy of a King who passed His Airness.
LeBron James scored 35 points and passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s alltime playoff scoring leader as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 135-102 on Thursday night to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title and another trip to the NBA Finals to meet the Golden State Warriors.
Kyrie Irving added 24 points and Kevin Love finished with 15 for the Cavs, who never trailed and led by as many as 39 points in one of their most dominating wins of the series. The Cavs set an NBA record by winning their 13th consecutive series closeout opportunity.
Cleveland’s 4-1 series win gives it a 12-1 record this postseason and sets up a third consecutive matchup with Western Conference champion Golden State, the team it beat in the Finals last season to claim the franchise’s first championship.
“I wear the number because of Mike,” James said. “I think I fell in love with the game because of Mike, just because of what he was able to accomplish. When you’re watching Michael Jordan it’s almost like a god. So I didn’t think I could be Mike.”
It will mark the seventh straight trip to the Finals for James, who hit a three-pointer late in in the third quarter to nudge past Jordan on the playoff scoring list. He quickly flashed one finger as he backpedaled down the court.
Avery Bradley led Boston with 23 points.