Cavs set NBA record with 41-point halftime lead

The Cavs scored the game’s first six points and pulled ahead 23-10 by the 3:38 mark of the quarter.

Celtics star Isaiah Thomas did not play in the second half with a right hip strain.

But if the Celtics are going to pick themselves up, it must start with All-Star Isaiah Thomas, who scored 17 points, but had to work for every single one just to finish 7 for 19 from the field.

BOSTON (AP) – LeBron James did pretty much whatever he wanted to against the Celtics in the Cavaliers’ dominating win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Cavaliers shot 26-for-44 over the first 24 minutes on Friday night, hitting 10 of their 22 three-point attempts. Kevin Love had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which led by 14 points after one quarter, by 72-31 at the half and by 46 after three.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue didn’t fear overconfidence coming in, well aware of how the Celtics had rallied in the Bulls series. Although Iverson’s 31.1 points per game beats Isaiah’s 28.9, Thomas beats him in nearly every other category.

The Cleveland Cavaliers humiliated, demolished and buried the Celtics at their court, at TD Garden.

“Kyrie and LeBron went out (of the game) and I told him I was going to feature him”, Lue said.

“I don’t think Boston fans need any more pumping up”, James said yesterday morning to the assembled media.

The Cavaliers will take center stage this weekend. He looks so confident in everything he’s doing right now, especially his outside shooting. We got the No. 1 seed, they didn’t give us a chance.

The Celtics are simply overmatched. The Cavaliers eventually took a 41-point lead into the half, forming the largest playoff halftime lead in National Basketball Association history.

As for the Celtics, they suffered a disheartening playoff loss and in the process, lost their top scorer.

James scored at least 30 points for a career-high eighth consecutive playoff game.

Thomas usually starts on the wing and gets a double staggered screen that allows him to turn the corner and go downhill and attack the basket.

Stevens said Thomas would be reevaluated before Sunday’s game. But in the end, Cleveland got its games off anyway.

“Basically nothing has changed on the side, we’re dealing 6, and we’re seeing about 60 percent of the betting action on the Cavs”, Childs said, though he noted Sportsbook.ag is proceeding with some caution.

Even though the Celtics were humiliated with Thomas both on and off the floor Friday, they are doing their best to motivate each other to fight back against the tallest of odds. Get there early and follow the “Laws of the Land” by putting on your free Cavs T-shirt.

This series is over.

“It doesn’t matter to me if I’m getting five shots or 25 shots”, Love said. LeBron James was an absurd plus-40 in +/-, the Cavs shot almost 60 percent and the Celtics couldn’t buy a bucket.

The Cavs will have the chance to sweep the series when they head home to Cleveland for games three and four.

But the upside and potential he has shown despite being just 18 years old – he turns 19 later this month – is enough to where he has a shot of being able to help in a meaningful way come playoff time.