BSJ Game Report: Cavs 109, Celtics 99 - James put up 46 points, including 14 in 4th

CLEVELAND — Everything you need to know about the Cavs’ Game 6 win over the Celtics in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis.

Box Score

HEADLINES

LeBron refuses to lose: LeBron James has not lost an elimination game at home to an Eastern Conference opponent in over 10 years and he wasn’t going to let that streak come to an end on Friday night. The MVP candidate finished one assist shy of a triple-double but had a game-high in four different categories including points (46), rebounds (11), assists (nine) and steals (three). James had 14 of his points in the fourth quarter to help ward off a late Celtics charge with a pair of crucial 3-pointers over some tough defense by Jayson Tatum. In a postseason full of magical performances, this may have been the best one yet for James to ensure that his season would not come to an end.

One quarter destroys Celtics’ chances on road (again): The Celtics avoided their usual first quarter rut on the road in the postseason, but they only managed to dodge them for the opening 12 minutes. The Cavs' second unit plus James outscored the Celtics by a 34-18 margin in the second period, feasting on a Celtics offense that took plenty of ill-advised long jumpers and turned the ball with some reckless passes. The miscues opened the door for some open looks for the Cavs in transition and built a double-digit lead that the Celtics were never able to overcome. Boston never trailed by fewer than seven points in the second half, as they were unable to get stops against the Cavs’ offense. Terry Rozier (team-high 28 points) and Jaylen Brown (27 points) kept the visitors in the game with their offense but a rough night from Horford (eight points on 2-of-8 shooting) prevented the C’s from having the firepower to keep pace.

Kevin Love gets concussed and the fill-ins step up: An ugly collision between Tatum and the power forward kept Love on the sidelines for final 43 minutes of the game as he dealt with concussion symptoms. His replacements (Jeff Green, Larry Nance Jr.) combined for 24 points and 10 rebounds over 52 minutes, giving the Cavs the extra scoring boost they needed to overcome the loss of their second-best scorer. Love’s availability remains unclear heading into Game 7 in Boston on Sunday night.

https://twitter.com/Marc_DAmico/status/1000177245598765056

TURNING POINT

The Cavs broke the game open with a 20-4 run midway through the second quarter as they stopped the Celtics’ offense in their tracks. Boston did not score a point in the paint during the entire frame as the energized Cavs defense forced them into long jumpers (12 of 19 shot attempts were from 3-point range) and turnovers (five during the period). The Cavs rode the scoring of James and Green during the run to erase a six-point deficit and opened up a double-digit lead.

TWO UP

Rozier: The young guard finally broke out of his road funk to put on the best offensive performance of the series against the Cavs. He scored a team-high 28 points for the C’s and hit a postseason career-high six 3-point attempts as he continuously punished the Cavs for going under screens and sticking with Al Horford on the pick-and-roll. He also dished out seven assists and turned the ball over only one time in 39 minutes. Without him, this game would have been a blowout for the Cavs.

Brown: The 21-year-old put on a show in the first quarter by scoring 15 of his 27 points in the frame to help the Celtics jump out to a five-point lead. The Celtics’ offense went away from him until the second half, something that ultimately led to the visitors digging a massive hole for themselves in the second quarter thanks to a drop off in offensive efficiency. Brown was a team-best 11-of-18 from the field, but struggled at the free throw line (3-of-6).  

TWO DOWN

Horford: The All-Star saw a steady diet of double teams all game long, which helps to explain his limited field goals (eight). However, he really failed to make an imprint in other parts of the game as well. He was timid on the defensive glass (15 offensive rebounds for Cleveland and was outplayed by the likes of Nance Jr. and Green in the Cavs frontcourt. He needs to be better in a road closeout game like this for the Celtics to have a chance.  

Marcus Morris: There was plenty of blame to go around during the C’s second-quarter collapse but Morris was on the top of the list. He took a number of long jumpers, turned the ball over a couple times and made a number of defensive miscues that led to easy points for the Cavs. He generally has tried to do too much on the road this postseason and that label held true on Friday night.

ONE TAKE B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

Not a great night for Brad Stevens: The head coach has usually been on his A game this postseason but he let this game get away from him a little bit on Friday night. Resting Tatum and Horford together on the road is usually how the C’s offense gets off the rails in the second quarter and that’s exactly what happened during the Cavs game-deciding 20-4 run. Stevens also went with Greg Monroe over Aron Baynes for some short minutes in the second half and the veteran big man gave Boston nothing on either end, including the defensive glass. Those moves didn’t cost the C’s the game by any means but it didn’t help to give the C’s a closer shot down the stretch.