LeBron James Disappears as Celtics Win With 21-Point Comeback

On nights when James proves human, the Cavs need more from their defense and other scorers.

“I had a tough game, period“.

“I mean, it’s the Eastern Conference finals”. “They doubled me a little bit more in the post”. “But one of my first text messages I got (after the game) was from Isaiah”.

Through the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Love is averaging 27.0 points and 11.3 boards, shooting 52 percent from the floor, 55 percent from long-range (17-of-31) and 84 percent from the stripe.

Following one of the worst postseason games of his career, James provided a candid review of his performance after breaking down film of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference finals. “But we definitely understand that this (Boston) team is not going to quit, they’re going to fight, they’re going to compete”. “But we know we’re capable of winning without him, and I think that ticked a lot of guys off, it being all about him”.

The defending National Basketball Association champions can wrap up their third straight conference title – and a “three-match” against the Warriors – with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston. “Not just in the second half”.

Marcus Smart and the Celtics weren’t ready to be put away just yet. He just made it over and over.

It was Boston’s first outing since star guard Isaiah Thomas was shut down with a hip injury, and the Celtics showed they’re capable counter-punchers.

The fan was escorted away by security personnel, but minutes later James, nearly always totally cooperative with the media, got testy when asked about his second-half struggles.

James wasn’t happy and carried some of that into his press conference. So I thought he was pretty darned good.

But those who’ve watched James over the years know that the future Hall of Famer never has two bad games in a row, and if there’s an opposing franchise who knows what he’s capable of, it’s the Celtics.

For whatever reason, James was not his usual aggressive self down the stretch but somehow saw a positive in what is a stunning chain of events. He’s been down with everything he’s been going through, and then for him not to be here, I know that hurts him even more.

They’ve given themselves a chance to erase the sting of their 44-point loss in Game 2. “We lost; it happens”. And don’t forget his classic Game 4 no-show against Dallas in the 2011 Finals, when he totaled just eight points.

However, they should be concerned by what might happen if 32-year-old James has an off night in a potential Finals meeting with the Golden State Warriors.

“I feel some adversity is all part of the postseason”, James said.

“It seems like you only ask questions when we lose”, James said to the reporter. It’s not something we’re going to hang our head on. “Some of the plays that we made, some of the plays that I made, I was like, ‘What are we doing?’ or ‘What could I have done better?’ But you figure out the next game and go forward”. “Everybody really got us down, so we’ve really got that mentality of we’ve just got to keep rolling”.