Celtics survive LeBron James' early scoring onslaught, take Game 2 of East finals

Jordan Greer

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Celtics survive LeBron James' early scoring onslaught, take Game 2 of East finals image

LeBron James dropped a 42-12-10 triple-double on the Celtics, but Boston refused to back down at TD Garden on Tuesday night, taking Game 2 by a final score of 107-94 and grabbing a commanding 2-0 series lead.

The Celtics once again got a balanced offensive effort with all five starters scoring at least 11 points. Jaylen Brown led the way with 23 points, but Al Horford was the closer down the stretch, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

James and Kevin Love combined for 54 points, but the rest of the Cavs offered only 40 points on 12-of-33 shooting. JR Smith in particular struggled mightily, going 0-of-7 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range. Cleveland needs to rediscover its identity before Game 3, or this series could end quickly.

Check out any of the highlights you missed from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals...

Game 2 box score

Final: Celtics 107, Cavs 94

11:00 p.m. ET — Despite a dominant start by LeBron James, the Celtics stay the course and completely shut down the Cavs in the second half. Cleveland finds itself in a 2-0 hole heading back home. An impressive victory for Boston.

10:54 p.m. ET —  JR Smith is called for a flagrant-1 foul for shoving Al Horford in the back as he jumped toward the basket. Certainly a dangerous play by Smith. In addition to that foul, Smith and Marcus Smart got hit with double technical fouls following a heated exchange in the paint.

10:47 p.m. ET — The Celtics are relentless, but LeBron James isn't giving up. He's got 40 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds — you know, normal LeBron stuff. 

Celtics 95, Cavs 89 with 4:41 on the clock.

10:35 p.m. ET — LeBron James just scored the first Cavs points in over four minutes. It's been a struggle for Cleveland in the second half. It's an eight-point deficit with under 10 minutes to go.

End of third quarter: Celtics 84, Cavs 77

10:24 p.m. ET — The Cavs' defense was a mess in the third period, and the Celtics took advantage by winning the quarter, 36-22. Terry Rozier has come alive in the second half and is now up to 16 points. LeBron James and Kevin Love have combined for 52 points so far, but Cleveland will need its role players to hit a few shots to regain the lead.

10:12 p.m. ET —  The TD Garden crowd is on its feet. Terry Rozier takes off for a huge one-handed slame on the fast break to push the Celtics ahead by three. Tyronn Lue is forced to call a timeout to stop the run.

10:07 p.m. ET — The game is now tied at 66. The Celtics are picking up the pace, and the Cavs' transition defense is... not great at the moment. This could be a turning point.

9:58 p.m. ET — Jayson Tatum... too smooth from midrange.

Halftime: Cavs 55, Celtics 48

9:37 p.m. ET — The Cavs look like a completely different team in Game 2. LeBron James is leading the way with 25 points, five assists and four rebounds. Cleveland's defensive effort is also much improved, but the hard part will be sustaining it. 

Jaylen Brown is shooting well again with 16 points (6-of-10 from the field), but the Celtics could use another consistent source of offense. A seven-point deficit is nothing for this Boston team, so it should be an exciting second half.

9:30 p.m. ET — LeBron James leaves the game with under four minutes remaining in the first half and heads directly to the locker room. It looked like James took an unintentional shot to the face from Jayson Tatum on a baseline drive.

9:20 p.m. ET — Jayson Tatum is finding his groove. The youngster scores nine straight points for the Celtics with a wide array of moves. Did we mention he's only 20 years old?

9:14 p.m. ET — Kyle Korver already has six points off the bench afters scoring only five in Game 1. The Cavs could really use his shooting to help spread the floor and create driving lanes.

End of first quarter: Cavs 27, Celtics 23

9:06 p.m. ET — LeBron James scores 21 of Cleveland's first 27 points to give the Cavs an early lead. He's 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Still, the Celtics have to feel good about only being down four despite James' explosion. Jaylen Brown is also hot with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

9:01 p.m. ET — OK, this is just getting silly. How did you do this, LeBron?

8:55 p.m. ET — LeBron James is a man on a mission. He's got 16 points in the first seven minutes of the first quarter. He's hitting from everywhere.

8:48 p.m. ET — A lot of energy to start the game. Jaylen Brown is picking up right where he left off.

8:40 p.m. ET — The rookie is ready to roll. What should we expect from Jayson Tatum in Game 2?

8:21 p.m. ET —  LeBron James and Terry Rozier, basketball experts.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.