CLEVELAND is on the brink of being swept out of the NBA Eastern Conference finals after they were blown off the court by a second-half Boston barrage.
LeBron James delivered big time for the Cavaliers — finishing with 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, shooting 16 of 29 from the field — but his team struggled to make any sort of impact in the 107-94 loss.
The Cavaliers managed just 39 points in the second half, tall Kevin Love was the only player to hit double figures - finishing with 22 points and 15 assists.
Boston had six players score more than 10 points.
The complete lack of impact from James’ supporting cast has led to fears the Cavs will be bundled out in four games by the high-flying Celtics — even with the series heading back to Cleveland for Game 4 and Game 5.
Boston’s 2-0 lead, has been undeniably impressive, however, and Cleveland has been undeniably sloppy.
James said he “won’t be losing sleep over it” despite the 2-0 deficit.
He and Love were spotted laughing in their post-match media conference — but the team wasn’t laughing in the second half as they coughed up an early lead.
ESPN analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy both commented on the Cavaliers body language, declaring they look to be a divided, frustrated team, as the Celtics took a 2-0 lead without their two best players — injured stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
“The Cavs eye roll each other more than a couple in a bad marriage,” Van Gundy said.
The entire game turned in the second quarter after James had lit up Boston with a freakish 21 points in the first quarter.
James took a heavy hit to the head early in the second quarter when Celtics star Jayson Tatum appeared to hit him with his shoulder.
