NBA

Monday's NBA playoffs: James scores 44, Cavaliers pull even

By Tom Withers
Associated Press
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James reacts after a play against the Boston Celtics in the first half of Game 4 on Monday.

Cleveland LeBron James knows the path to the NBA Finals better than anyone in today’s game.

And unless the Boston Celtics do something soon, he’ll get there again.

James bullied his way to 44 points, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar atop a postseason list and helped the Cleveland Cavaliers even the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 on Monday night with a 111-102 victory over the Celtics, who are looking forward to getting home before their adoring fans.

Pushed by a raucous crowd that wasn’t so confident a few days ago, the Cavs held off Boston’s comeback in the fourth quarter and squared a tight series that is now a best-of-three.

Cleveland is trying to become the 20th team  out of 300  to overcome a 2-0 deficit and James, who has already orchestrated two such rallies and is seeking his eighth straight finals, is a step closer to a third.

But to do it again the Cavs will have to win in Boston, where the Celtics are 9-0 this postseason.

“It’s a hostile environment,” James said. “We understand that, we know that there’s no love in there. If you ain’t got on green, if you don’t play for that team, if you don’t bleed green, they got no love for you. So we’ve got to come out with a bunker mentality and understand it’s just us. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Game 5 is Wednesday night at TD Center, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens is trying to stay positive with a team that has given up a 2-0 lead and fell to 1-6 on the road in these playoffs.

“It’s the best two out of three to go to the NBA Finals. Doesn’t get better than that,” he said. “Ultimately, anybody that didn’t think this was going to be tough, I mean, everything is tough. In this deal, it’s a blast to have to grit your teeth, get up off the mat and go after it again.”

Kyle Korver added 14 points and Cleveland’s sharp-shooting 37-year-old added several hustle plays, outrunning three Celtics in one sequence and diving for a loose ball. Tristan Thompson had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs. Kevin Love had just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting and was in foul trouble, but he made a big 3-pointer and follow shot in the fourth quarter.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 and Boston had all five scorers in double figures, but the Celtics fell behind by 19 in the first half and didn’t have enough to catch Cleveland.

And, of course, they didn’t have James, who moved past Abdul-Jabbar (2,356) for the most field goals in playoff history. James also recorded his 25th career postseason game with at least 40 points  his sixth in this postseason.

The Celtics hung around in the second half and pulled within 100-93 on Marcus Smart’s basket with 4:29 left. But Thompson got free for a dunk, and after a miss by Boston, James recovered after making his seventh turnover by making a steal and layup.

Moments later, James drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to finally put away the young Celtics, who will now feel the immense pressure of trying to hold off the three-time champion.

“He’s the best in the game at evaluating the court and figuring out what he wants and where he wants it,” Stevens said. “The thing about it is that you just have to battle. You just have to make it as hard as possible, because he’s going to find a matchup that he ultimately wants.”

Stevens considered changing his starting lineup, but decided to stick with the same first five  Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, Al Horford, and Terry Rozier  as the first three games.

Boston’s starters held their own, but none of them was able to match James when it mattered most.

Conference finals

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Series tied 2-2

Game 1: Boston 108, Cleveland 83

Game 2: Boston 107, Cleveland 94

Game 3: Cleveland 116, Boston 86

Monday: Cleveland 111, Boston 102

Wednesday: Cleveland at Boston, 8:30

Friday: Boston at Cleveland, 8:30

x-Sunday: Cleveland at Boston, 8:30

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Golden State leads 2-1

Game 1: Golden State 119, Houston 106

Game 2: Houston 127, Golden State 105

Game 3: Golden State 126, Houston 85

Tuesday: Houston at Golden State, 9

Thursday: Golden State at Houston, 9

x-Saturday: Houston at Golden State, 9

x-Monday: Golden State at Houston, 9

x-if necessary