LeBron Scores 35 as Cavaliers Advance to NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers started the NBA Eastern Conference Finals behind the 8 ball, falling behind 2-0 in the series with the Boston Celtics. But seemingly due to the sheer will of LeBron James, the Cavaliers overcame that early deficit to win Game 7 87-79, in Boston no less, and advance to the NBA Finals.

James had a huge game, just missing a triple double with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists. Kevin Love was out with a concussion, but Jeff Green filled in admirably, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Jayson Tatum scored 24 and Al Horford had 17 for Boston, but the Celtics were plagued by poor shooting. Terry Rozier was 2-14 from the field and 0-10 from three point range. The Celtics hit just 17.9% of their 3 pointers (7-39) and 29 of 85 on field goals (34.1 %).

But this series was all about LeBron James. After a subpar Game 1, in which he scored just 15 points, he scored 42 with 12 assists in Game 2; 27 with 12 assists in Game 3; 44 in Game 4; 26 in Game 5, 46 in Game 6, and then the 35 point, 15 rebound performance in Game 7. This is the eighth straight year that LeBron has advanced to the Finals with either the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat won it all in 2012 and 2013, and the Cavs won in 2016.