NBA: LeBron James leads Cavs past Celtics and into NBA Finals

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New York, May 28: LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are back in the NBA Finals after outlasting the Boston Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference finals.

James continued his dominance on Sunday (May 27), leading the Cavaliers to an 87-79 victory over the Celtics in Boston as Cleveland earned their fourth successive trip to the Finals.

Cavs superstar James scored a game-high 35 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists to see Cleveland clinch a 4-3 series win.

Elite in all facets of the game, James controlled the tempo and stepped up defensively to stop Boston's young, athletic line-up at TD Garden.

Playing without Kevin Love, the Cavaliers rallied back from an eight-point first-quarter deficit. Jeff Green started in Love's place and scored 19 points. J.R. Smith added 12 points.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 24 points, but Boston did not do enough offensively to stop James and the Cavs, who await the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets.

KING JAMES

James was not only the stud of the night, but he has been the stud of the NBA for the entire postseason. People can debate and bring up Michael Jordan all they want, it does not take away from how special James has become ahead of his eighth successive NBA Finals appearance.

ROZIER STRUGGLES AS CELTICS FALL SHORT

Celtics point guard Terry Rozier looked like a star in the making leading up to the Eastern Conference finals, but Cleveland's defense proved too much for him. Rozier scored just four points in game seven on two of 14 shooting (0 for 10 from three-point range). Rozier did not commit a turnover, but he hurt Boston in other ways.

TATUM DUNKS ON JAMES

It was a forgettable night for the Celtics but Tatum produced a moment for the highlight reel.

WARRIORS (3-3) AT ROCKETS (3-3)

Injuries have plagued both teams, but Houston are in trouble if Chris Paul cannot play or is far from full health. James Harden has struggled with his shot, leaving Eric Gordon as their most consistent scorer.

Reigning champions the Warriors have injuries of their own, but the 'Big Four' is good enough to overcome them. Though playing on the road on Monday (May 28), Golden State look poised to reach another Finals.

Source: OPTA