By Justin Worsley
The Cleveland Cavaliers may have had not only the NBA's best record for two years in a row as well as the NBA's most valuable player in LeBron James, but they have been unable to find their way into the NBA Finals. The Boston Celtics become this season's dragon slayers after taking down the star-studded Cavaliers in six games at TD Garden 94-85.
The loss may be the end of James' career as a Cleveland Cavalier, as he becomes a free agent next season. There is much speculation as to where James may land. While James was taking free throw shots late in the game, Celtics fans were cheering "New York Knicks," a leading candidate to where James could be next season.
After a dismal performance in Game 5 where James only scored 15 points, the six-time NBA All Star finished Game 6 with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Despite having only his eighth triple-double in his post-season career, James was also flagged for nine turnovers in the game.
Another reason the Celtics were able to hold off Cleveland, the Cavaliers just simply couldn't shoot in the second half, where they only converted 31-percent of their field goals compared to Boston's 43-percent. The Celtics also dominated the turnover battled, forcing Cleveland to cough up the ball 24 times while only giving the ball away 13 times.
James, who made headlines last season for leaving the court promptly after losing to the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of the Conference Finals, was easily the most visible player on the court after the game, shaking hands with nearly every Celtic, including exchanging words with forward Kevin Garnett. Garnett led Boston in scoring with 22 points.
"We just never got a rhythm in this series," Cleveland head coach Mike Brown said in a post-game interview.
The Celtics will face the Magic, who are yet to lose a playoff game this season, in the Eastern Conference finals.
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