First Quarter: 

The Celtics get out to the quick lead at home.  One thing to notice was that the Cavs started Shaquille O’Neal on Kevin Garnett.  Garnett has been roasting forward Antawn Jamison in the post, and the switch was an attempt to stop the damage that KG has done inside.  Well, the versatile former MVP took his game outside, hitting jumpers and forcing O’Neal to play further out on the floor.  KG would end up shooting 5-5 by the end of the first half.

Cleveland stormed back behind 10 first-quarter points from Mo Williams.

LeBron Watch:  James contributed 9 points and 2 assists in the period, and looked to be patient but also more aggressive than in Game 5.

Score at end of quarter:  Boston 25, Cleveland 22

Second Quarter:

Boston again started out fast in the beginning of the quarter, pulling out to a 6-point advantage.  Balanced scoring has been the story for Cleveland, and they’ve done it without Paul Pierce – who played less than 9 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.

Mo Williams continued to shine and ended the half with 20 points, making us all wonder ‘where was this in the last three games of the series?’ 

Tony Allen has made a huge difference for the Celtics (with Pierce on the bench).    He has provided defense, aggression, and an overall boost in energy.  Allen ended the half’s scoring after the other Allen (sharpshooter Ray) penetrated past LeBron James and dished it off for a resounding tomahawk dunk that ignited the crowd.  Moments later, Ray Allen wrestled for a loose ball that almost resulted in him knocking down a three that would have brought the house down.

Score at the half:  Boston 51, Cleveland 49

Third Quarter:

The Cavs opened with six consecutive points, but the Celtics quickly counter with six of their own – four of them coming out of that Garnett-Jamison mismatch.  Cleveland quickly switches Shaq back onto Garnett.

Shaq and Kendrick Perkins begin their Royal Rumble portion of the contest.  Perkins gets flattened by Shaq after attempting to box him out on the boards.  Then, Perkins fouls O’Neal to prevent a sure dunk from Shaq.  Then Shaq lays a hard smackdown on Perkins to keep him from getting a layup.

In the midst of all of this, Jamison is stinking it up offensively.  He’s missed a tear drop and a wide-open three ball, and is now 1-7 from the floor.

Then, suddenly the Cavs fall apart.  Scrapping for a loose ball, Andersen Varajeo appears to be hit…or maybe he was flopping (which is not uncommon for Southern hemisphere NBA players).  He’s calling for travelling instead, and Paul Pierce come down and drains a three.  The Cavs seemed poised to call a timeout, but don’t and Williams misses a three amid a lot of confusion on Cleveland’s side.  Varajeo is indicating (to the refs) that he’s bleeding, and the Celtics play on.  Kevin Garnett drains an uncontested jumper to put Boston up by nine, prompting a definitive timeout call from Mike Brown.

Tony Allen went to work again on defense.  The Cavs actually tried to get LeBron in a post-up situation (surprise!), but Allen holds his ground and comes up with the strip on James.  This was a big statement play that let LeBron know that he won’t be able to play bully-ball tonight.

Score at end of quarter:  Boston 76, Cleveland 67

Dwight Howard believed that the NBA MVP should be determined in the playoffs. If so, James' early postseason exit would probably disqualify him from consideration.

Fourth Quarter:

The first big plays of the quarter give some promise to Cavs fans – LeBron James hits back-to-back triples that cut the Celtic lead down to four with nine and a half minutes left in regulation.

But Boston immediately gets the cushion back up to nine after two Cleveland turnovers lead to five quick points.  Once again, it’s Pierce who hits a key trey to end the sequence.  Rajon Rondo is controlling this game – a points-assists double-double once again.

The Celtics swarming defense has just produced another 5-0 run that has pushed their lead out to 14.  Off of a Pierce penetration, Rasheed Wallace cans a three ball from the corner.  ‘Sheed has given the Celtics all they can ask for off the bench, putting up 12 points to this juncture of the game.  It has rapidly become gut-check time for LeBron and the Cavs.

Cleveland has 23 turnovers…to 13 for Boston.  The Cavs are pressing big time.  They are rushing shots, and missing open looks.  With 3:50 remaining in regulation, Cleveland’s hope is dwindling as they trail by 12.

Now with 3:30 left, the crowd at the TD Garden is chanting “New York Knicks…New York Knicks…New York Knicks…”

Cleveland looked to give up with under a minute left.  This team looks like one that is crushed – and James or no James – the impact from not living up to their impressive regular season will follow them for some time.

Final score:  Boston 94, Cleveland 85

Summary:

Tonight proved to be the same old story for Cleveland.  As a team, they were not equipped enough to battle a team with the weapons that Boston has.  LeBron had pretty stats – 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assist – but he wasn’t dominant by any means.  James also fueled Boston’s offense by committing nine turnovers.  The only way they would have emerged victorious would have been for James to have huge games every night – which he did not.

Even if the Cavs would have somehow made it past this series, their chances against the Orlando would have been nonexistent.  This is the second consecutive year that the Cavs have proven that the regular season and the playoffs are different beasts.  The best regular season records over the past two seasons, no appearances in the Finals.

Indeed, it was a sad ending for a city that has suffered so much.

For Boston – what can you say?  When these veterans play as a team, the sky is the limit.  Last year, we all wondered how the Celtics would have fared in their series with the Magic with a healthy Kevin Garnett. 

Now, we’ll get our chance to to see how that would have turned out.

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