LeBron has Celtics scared of his shadow

King James in the zone as Cavs romp to Game 1 victory in Boston

BOSTON - So much for the Cavaliers being rusty.

LeBron James intimidated every defender Boston threw at him and Cleveland picked up where it left off following a long layoff, rolling to a 117-104 victory on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the NBA's Eastern Conference final.

James had 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Kevin Love added a playoff career-high 32 points and had 12 rebounds to help the Cavaliers improve to 9-0 in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

They opened 10-0 last season en route to their first NBA title.

"It was our two big guys that set the tone - Kev and Double-T (Tristan Thompson), they were phenomenal," James said. "I saw it in Kev this morning. I knew what type of game he was going to have. So he came through for us."

But there's no denying it has started with James, who has scored at least 35 points in five straight games.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said James' efficiency continues to make things easier for everyone on both ends.

"He's playing at a high level. And that's the reason why we're riding him so much," Lue said. "When LeBron's playing at that level, other guys just have to be solid and we have a good chance to win."

Game 2 is on Friday night in Boston.

Coming off a 10-day break, James and the Cavaliers raced to an early lead they were never at risk of losing.

"You can't dig yourself in a big hole like that against them," Boston coach Brad Stevens said.

James scored at will in the first half and the Cavs built a 26-point lead. Love opened up the floor for James, burying outside jumpers and forcing Boston to leave defenders one-on-one with James.

Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder led the Celtics with 21 points each, while Isaiah Thomas had 17. Coming off a Game 7 victory over Washington on Monday night, Boston missed 11 of its first 14 shots.

"They were the better team tonight. They hit us first and they were more physical," Thomas said. "We can't let that happen again."

Love averaged a quiet 13.8 points in the first two rounds, then broke out against a Boston team that knocked him out of the 2015 playoffs when he became tangled with Kelly Olynyk and dislocated his shoulder.

The shoulder was working just fine on Wednesday, and he scored in the paint and from the outside.

"We wanted to come in and set the tone and dictate the game. We felt like we did a good job of doing that," Love said. "It wasn't just me. Everybody was moving the ball, passing the ball well."

Things got a little testy in the third quarter when Boston's Marcus Smart and Cleveland's Thompson got nose-to-nose and had to be separated by referees. Some jawing continued briefly before James stepped in.

Tip-ins

Cavaliers: Since Game 5 of NBA finals, Cleveland has won a franchise-record 12 straight playoff games ... The Cavs hold a 33-4 playoff record against Eastern Conference opponents.

Celtics: Boston coughed up 14 turnovers and was outrebounded 32-27 ... Lost at home for the first time since Game 2 of the quarterfinal against Chicago.

No help for Crowder

One of the Celtics' issues all night was not sending help when James got into one-on-one situations.

Crowder was the primary defender on him and said that must be the top priority as they look to adjust for Game 2.

He said the help must come faster - and more often.

"He has to see bodies behind me," Crowder said.

"Obviously he got comfortable with what we were doing on the defensive end, and he had his way.

Associated Press

(China Daily 05/19/2017 page24)