Tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers proved that it’s not how you start, but how you finish.

Despite early success in tonight’s TNT prime-time tilt, the Boston Celtics were defeated by the Cavs in Boston, 108-88.  They were led by mega-star LeBron James’ 36 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.

This was an important win for the Cavs (45-14).  Prior to this contest, the Cavs had lost 9 straight games in the TD Garden.  After the acquisition of Antawn Jamison to offset the versatile Orlando Magic forwards, many viewed the Celtics as the only Eastern Conference team that can take down the Cavaliers.

If the game’s beginning would have been any indication, it would have appeared that the Celtics were well on their way to consecutive win #10 in the TD Garden.  

Boston (39-20) - who came into the game with leading scorer Paul Pierce on the shelf with a finger injury and the flu – began the game in attack mode.  In particular, Rajon Rondo was very effective.  He opened the game exploiting the weak defense of Mo Williams – scoring eight of the Celtics first 10 points.  Rondo accounted for 18 of Boston’s first 22 points – either by scoring or assisting.  As the first half progressed, Ray Allen got into the act.  Allen had his stroke going, hitting for 21 points (7-13 FG, 4-8 from 3).  Cleveland even lost Shaquille O’Neal for the game after Celtics forward Glen Davis slapped down at the basketball when O’Neal made a move to the basket.  After a brilliant first half, the Celtics went into halftime with a 56-48 lead.

Mo Williams silenced the crowd at the TD Garden on Thursday night.

After the break, Cleveland brought out its secret weapon – its smothering defense.  The Cavs harrased Boston into scoring only 32 second half points.  Conversely, LeBron and his crew were able to put up 60. 

Boston only shot 3-21 in the fourth quarter, while the Cavs put up 35 fourth quarter points.  In fact, the Cavs gained their game-changing momentum with James on the bench.  Delonte West came up big with some penetrations, including one that ended in a lob pass to forward J.J. Hickson.  Williams made up for his lackluster defense earlier in the game by canning a few late threes (including 5 for the game, and a total of 19 points).  Andersen Varajeo hustled his way to 14 energetic points, 10 boards and 3 blocked shots.

The game justified what most believe about the Cavs.  The only thing that can stop them from winning the East this year is themselves.  They are young, strong and versatile (due to the off-season and mid-season acquisitions from management) and have the most unstoppable force in the game today (LBJ). 

The Celtics, on the other hand, are going home tonight with broken hearts and body parts reeking of Ben Gay.