With their backs against the wall Lebron James once again came up big for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. James scored a game high 46 points, to help power Cleveland to a 109-99 win over the Boston Celtics in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The best of seven series is now tied 3-3.
Boston started well, as Jaylen Brown scored 15 of his teams 25 first quarter points to help the Celtics hold a 25-20 lead after 12 minutes. James made a three pointer with 8:06 left in first half to give the Cavs their first lead of the game 34-33. Cleveland built that lead to 14, and led 54-43 at the break. The third quarter was much of the same, as the hosts built their biggest lead of 16, before Boston cut it to 83-73 at the end of three. The Celtics got it down to seven several times in the final quarter, before James nailed another three with just over two minutes left to put the Cavs back up 10 and end any thoughts of a Boston comeback.
James added 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and a block in 46 minutes of play. The King was 17-33 from the field, 5-7 from three point land, and 7-11 from the foul line. George Hill added 20 points, while Jeff Green had 14, and Larry Nance Jr. had 10 points.
Terry Rozier led the Celts with 28 points and seven rebounds. Rozier shot 10-16 from the field and 6-10 from the three point arc. Brown finished with 27 points on 11-18 shooting. Jayson Tatum added 15 points, while Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart both chipped in 10 points a piece.
Boston is now 1-7 on road in the playoffs. The Celtics will hope to add another win to their perfect 10-0 home playoff record when they host the Cavaliers Sunday night at 8:30 in a winner take all game seven with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
