
But if Cleveland doesn't figure out how to counter Stevens's defensive adjustments and get some help for James, the Cavs will have nearly no chance of making the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year. That season, Boston knocked out James and the Cavs in six games in the second round, and James left the Cavs for the Miami Heat.
George Hill added 20 points, while Jeff Green and Larry Nance came off the bench to deliver 14 and 10, respectively.
Brown finished with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting for the Celtics while point guard Terry Rozier led the team in scoring with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a 6-for-10 showing from three.
"It's definitely frustrating just because we didn't bring the energy", Thompson said. He didn't get his first rest until the final minute of the third quarter.
Given LeBron James has made it to seven consecutive NBA Finals and won five consecutive Game 7s (including one earlier this postseason), it would seem foolish to bet against him Sunday night.
The Cleveland defense, which had been non-existent throughout the series, forced eight Boston turnovers in the first half and 13 overall for the game, leading to 11 points for Cleveland.
As Love stayed down, the Cavs huddled around him.
That was everything Cleveland needed in an elimination game.
The 33-year-old has said several times since coming home in 2014 that he wants to retire with the Cavaliers, but fans are uneasy because he can opt out of his $35.6 million contract this summer and test free agency.
Friday, in Game 6 against the Celtics, his back-to-back step-back 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter sent James on a chest-pounding jog. Everyone had an opinion on what James will do next and that discussion filled the sports talk radio airwaves, bars and barber shops. We know LeBron is different than a lot of other guys, but we've got to get the job done.
And, of course, he left in 2010.
For now, he's only going to Boston. "I have a passion for the game", James said. "I think the other three were attack turnovers, and I'm okay with that". In his previous elimination game, a month ago here against IN, he had 45 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Michael Jordan also had seven, one off Jerry West's record set in 1965.
The victor will head to either Houston or Golden State for Game 1 of the Finals. It was the best performance in an elimination game of LeBron's career. I appreciate that team because of that. When he made another game-winning field goal in Game 3 in the subsequent round against the Toronto Raptors - his end-to-end race, with a high-difficulty floater that banked in off the glass at a preposterous angle - he did a victory lap to soak in the sound. He especially got a kick out of seeing Paul mock Warriors star Stephen Curry with a shoulder shimmy after making a 3-pointer.
"It's just something that you can't explain what he's doing night in and night out", Hill said.
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