Swamigp’s Weblog

Lebron had another mediocre shooting night, but this time his role players had his back in a 104-84 romp of the Celtics. Even though he shot 5-16 he finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks as well as getting plaenty of help by the other members of his team. Delonte West scored 21 points as well, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing 7 assists in a game in which the Cavs led throughout. Cleveland started the onslaught early, breaking out to a 32-13 lead after one period. They held their own in the second quarter, leading by 17 at halftime, thanks in part to the 7 players besides LeBron that played significant minutes. Joe Smith scored 17 points off the bench, shooting 7-8 from the field while Wally Szczerbiak chipped in 16 for Cleveland. As a team they got a huge lift from Ben Wallace, who wasn’t expected to play because of an ear infection. He made a solid contribution, scoring 9 points and pulling down 9 rebounds, including 7 offensive. Zydrunas Ilgaukskas posted 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists to round out the efficiency of the Cavaliers offense. They shot 53 percent for the game, including well over 60% in the blistering first half.

Much like against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the Celtics couldn’t do anything to stop the Cavs as they continued their woeful road performance so far in these playoffs. Unlike Cleveland, they shot pretty bad in this game, 40% from the floor. Kevin Garnett was their lone bright spot, scoring 17 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. The Celtics couldn’t handle the aggressiveness by the Cavs to start the game and couldn’t muster many runs to put up a fight. Ray Allen continued his struggles, posting just 10 points on 4-12 shooting while missing all 5 of his three point attempts.

Cleveland distributed the ball very well, collecting 29 assists on 37 field goals, picking apart a usually stellar Boston defense. Though Boston has been stellar at home during these playoffs, allowing only 75 points a game, their have been quite the opposite on the road, allowing close to a 100 point per contest. If it is any consolation for Celtics fans, if they do want to play a game 7 in each series from here on out, they could win the championship without winning a road game because they obtained home court advantage throughout by compliling the league’s best regular season record. i wouldn’t want to get in that habit though.