LeBron And The Cavs Staved Off Elimination To Force Game 7 In Boston

LeBron James may have been running on empty in Game 5, but facing elimination back in Cleveland on Friday night, he arrived at the arena for Game 6 driving a tanker filled with rocket fuel. LeBron was absolutely phenomenal, finishing with 46 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown to lead the Cavs to a 109-99 win to force Game 7 in Boston on Sunday.

The Cavs got a much more balanced effort offensively from their role players, specifically George Hill and Jeff Green, who added 20 points and 14 points, respectively, but it was their suffocating defense that was the driving force behind their Game 6 victory as they blocked nine shots, came up with eight steals, and forced the Celtics into 13 turnovers.

They did it mostly without Kevin Love in the lineup, who left the game in the first quarter after bumping heads with Jayson Tatum and was eventually ruled out of the remainder of the contest.

Cleveland was able to get the win despite an outstanding performance from Terry Rozier, who scored 28 points for Boston and made six three-pointers on the night. Jaylen Brown was equally impressive despite the loss as he added 27 points on the game. The Celtics’ star rookie Jayson Tatum struggled for most of the game, finishing with 15 points after a two-point first half, leading the broadcast crew to wonder whether he was a little more shaken up than he let on after his collision with Love.

After being visibly fatigued in Game 5, LeBron came out with both guns blazing from the opening tip, shooting 3-of-4 from downtown en route to 25 first-half points while keying a 20-4 run in the second quarter to build a 14-point cushion going into intermission.

The Celtics tried to stage a late rally in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to seven with just under three minutes remaining, but that’s when LeBron knocked down back-to-back dagger threes to put the Cavs up for good.

The Celtics have not been good on the road this series – or the playoffs in general – but they have a chance to close things out on their home court when Game 7 tips off on Sunday at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.