The King was in royal form Tuesday.
LeBron James was terrific from start to finish in the Cavaliers’ 99-91 win over the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena. Kyrie Irving posted another terrific game, but it was James who delivered the knockout blows time and time again.
James said before Tuesday’s game he wasn’t afraid of the Celtics’ double team and was just as comfortable being a distributor with the ball. That especially was true in the first half, when James scored only 11 points but dished out five assists.
After a subpar performance in Game 1, LeBron put Game 2 on a silver platter for Cleveland. Any time Boston made a run — and it made plenty, even pulling within two points in the fourth quarter — LeBron was there with an answer.
Let’s take a closer look at James’ performance.
STAT LINE
LeBron scored a game-high 30 points and added nine rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. He also had six turnovers and three fouls in a game-high 41:48 of playing time.
James scored 15 points in his dominant fourth quarter to propel the Cavaliers to victory. He and Irving (26 points) scored all 24 of the Cavs’ fourth-quarter points.
James also shot 50 percent from the floor (11-of-22), including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He finished with a respectable +11 plus/minus, third-highest on the team.
SHINING MOMENT
LeBron’s passing skills were on full display at The Q. This pass was a microcosm of LeBron’s night, though it came in transition.
And then his phenomenal lead pass to Kyrie Irving on the break led to this monster slam.
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
Speaking of that LeBron-to-Love outlet pass/reverse jam:
[tweet https://twitter.com/MichaelVPina/status/590675655630725120 align=’center’]
Sorry, Patriots fans. Your starting running back is a fan of LeBron James.
[tweet https://twitter.com/LG_Blount/status/590677686965657600 align=’center’]
San Antonio might have something to say about that, but we see your point.
[tweet https://twitter.com/bigpumpkin4real/status/590678139090640897 align=’center’]
Literally everything went his way tonight.
[tweet https://twitter.com/talkhoops/status/590687544112717824 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/talkhoops/status/590688079175909376 align=’center’]
CROWNING THE KING
Grade: A-plus
This was vintage LeBron. When the Celtics double-teamed him, he found an open teammate. Jae Crowder forced LeBron to take two long, contested shots early in the game. James drained one of them, despite the terrific defense. The guy rebounded, anticipated on defense, and really set the tone out of the gate. When LeBron plays like this, there isn’t a whole lot teams can do.
Arguably the bigger problem has been Irving, who continued to dazzle. That’s the beauty of LeBron — he forces adjustment on defense, picks that adjustment apart anyway, and the second your guard is raised too high, he finds a teammate to bury you. He easily could have pushed into double-digit assist territory, but several times teammates missed wide-open looks both at the basket and from corner-3s.
It’s not like the Celtics did much, if anything, wrong. Everything they did well in Game 1 they basically improved upon in Game 2.Their best quarter was probably the fourth, but it just so happened to be LeBron’s as well.
That’s just what the best player in the world does.
Thumbnail image via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
