CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James scored 44 points and put away Boston down the stretch as the Cavaliers evened the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2 with a 111-102 win over the Celtics.
James helped the Cavs turn back a Boston rally in the fourth quarter and tied a series that has gone from best-of-7 to best-of-3.
The Celts shot just 7-for-26 while the Cavaliers outscored them 34-18 in the first period of Cleveland’s 111-102 triumph at Quicken Loans Arena.
James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals in playoff history and also recorded his 25th career postseason game with at least 40 points, six coming in these playoffs.
The first-quarter assault came on the heels of Saturday’s 31-point win over Boston.
Kyle Korver finished with 14 points, while Tristan Thompson added 13 with two rebounds.
Jaylen Brown had a team-high 25 points for the Celtics, who outscored the Cavaliers in each of the last three quarters but couldn’t recover from a 19-point deficit.
The series shifts to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday.