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In Progress: In Boston, Cavs Look To Bounce Back Vs. Celtics
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 21 of his 38 points in the first quarter, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers jump out to a big lead en route to handing the Boston Celtics their worst ever home playoff loss, a 124-95 pasting in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at TD Garden.
The Cavs shot an impressive 59.5 percent overall, bouncing back from an ugly 104-86 defeat on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead.
"I thought tonight we were aggressive on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes," Cavs head coach Mike Brown said. "It was great to see LeBron set the tone from the jump ball, and everyone else followed."
James' right elbow strain did little to curb his production, as he finished with eight rebounds and seven assists while shooting 14-of-22 from the floor. Antawn Jamison ended with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Shaquille O'Neal added 12 and nine in the victory.
Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo paced the Celtics with 19 and 18 points, respectively, while Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for 18 points on 6-of- 24 shooting.
The best-of-seven series continues in Boston for Game 4 on Sunday.
James’ big opening quarter carried Cleveland to a healthy 36-17 advantage. He scored eight straight points during one stretch midway through, and two Jamison free throws with 5:11 to go put the Cavs on top 20-8.
The two-time reigning MVP capped his 8-of-10 effort from the field in the opening 12 minutes with a reverse dunk in transition in the final minute.
Even with James resting in the second quarter, Cleveland never let up, leading by as many as 24 following a Jamison jumper 38.9 seconds before halftime.
"It wasn't our offense. They shot 62 percent in the first half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said of the slow start. "Defensively we were horrible."
A Kendrick Perkins putback made it 65-43 at the break, but a Mo Williams three-point play followed by a James make from long distance pushed the margin to 73-47 less than two minutes into the second half.
The difference reached 30 when James’ alley-oop slam yielded an 88-58 score with four minutes left in the third.
For the second consecutive game, the fourth quarter played like a shootaround, only this time it was Boston’s fans voicing their displeasure at the home team. The largest lead was 35.
Garnett sat out practice on Thursday to rest a strained right foot suffered when Perkins landed on him with about three minutes left in Monday's game...Williams and Anthony Parker scored 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Delonte West came off the Cavs bench and posted 14 points...Boston shot 4-of-17 from three-point range and got outrebounded, 45-30...Cleveland made 31-of-34 foul shots...Nate Robinson had 11 points off Boston's bench.
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