Fri, Jul 18 2008
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Published May 13, 2008 03:35 am - Cavaliers not green with envy LeBron leads Cleveland past Boston ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press CLEVELAND — LeBron James put his mom and then the Boston Celtics in their places.
James scored 21 points, delivering a devastating dunk over a defenseless Kevin Garnett in the final two minutes, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the homesick Celtics 88-77 in Game 4 on Monday night to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2. Still stuck in a shooting slump, James dominated down the stretch and finished with 13 assists — four in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers, too, showed that they can play stingy defense, holding the Celtics — the NBA’s best defensive team — to just 12 points in the final period. “That’s what we needed to do,” said James, whose mother, Gloria, came to her son’s defense in the first quarter after he got tangled with Paul Pierce and Garnett. Boston dropped to 0-5 on the road in the postseason, a stunning slip for a team that went 31-10 outside their home floor during the regular season. During a short stay in Ohio, the Celtics lost their momentum in the series but will now head home, where they went 35-6 before the playoffs started. Afterward, Celtics players were at a loss to explain their travel difficulties. “It’s hard to say. I have no answer for it,” forward Ray Allen said. Game 5 is Wednesday night, and Game 6 will be back in Cleveland on Friday. James was just 7-for-20 from the floor, but he did everything else for the Cavaliers, who are attempting to overcome an 0-2 deficit for the second time in two years. In the final 8:45, James had four assists, a 3-pointer and a right-handed dunk that rattled Quicken Loans Arena and became the signature moment of this series. With the Cavaliers leading, 82-75, James drove past Pierce on a screen near the foul line, head faked past James Posey and then posterized Garnett, the league’s defensive player of the year. As Cavaliers fans erupted, a scowling James stormed back on defense. “I just wanted to be aggressive,” James said. “I hadn’t had a play like that all series. There was a lot built up.” After a timeout, the dunk was shown on the videoboard at least six times, giving Cleveland fans more chances to ooh and ahh at a play they won’t soon forget. The Celtics may have a tough time erasing it from their minds. “He can dunk,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Especially if you give him a running start at the basket. It’s probably going to be a pretty good dunk and he’s so darn powerful that once he gets up there, there’s not a lot you can do. “I hate the fact that he got to the basket.” 
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