https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lebron-james-drags-cavs-to-another-nba-finals-epitomizing-amazing-crazy-hard-year/

1. C B S S P O R T S . C O M 2 4 7 S P O R T S M A X P R E P S S C O U T S P O R T S L I N E S H O P G O L F B O O K T I C K E T S    
LeBron James drags Cavs to another NBA Finals
epitomizing 'amazing, crazy, hard year'
Cleveland's run through the Eastern Conference in the NBA playoffs was a lot different this time
around
by @outsidethenba 22h ago • 5 min readJames Herbert 
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BOSTON -- If it was going to happen, it wasn't going to be pretty. Nothing the
have done in the 2017-18 season has been. They
entered Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals without their second-best
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player, , and they needed to do something no team had done in
the entire playoffs: Beat the at TD Garden.
Even for , who in previous years made getting out of the East
look easy, this proved to be challenging. James needed to play all 48
minutes in his 100th game of the season on Sunday, and the Cavaliers had to
come back from a slow start that found them trailing 35-23 midway through
the second quarter. Cleveland played an imperfect game -- it shot 9 for 35
from 3-point range and had five total bench points -- but wound up with
, advancing to the Finals yet again. This will be James'
eighth-straight trip there.
The only thing neat and tidy about this performance was how well it holds up
as a microcosm of the Cavs' season. James was preposterously good,
finishing with 35 points on 12 for 24 shooting, with 15 rebounds, nine assists
and two blocks. He also had eight turnovers, though, and didn't even come
out for halftime warmups because he wanted to use his time "to recalibrate
and catch my wind again," he said. Cleveland's spacing was cramped with
in Love's place, and its minutes with reserves Larry Nance Jr. and
on the court were disastrous.
The Cavs needed some luck in the form of Boston missing more than its fair
share of wide-open 3-pointers. Still, when things were going poorly, they
could have folded, given into exhaustion or strayed from the game plan.
They did not.
"Both sides tonight didn't shoot the ball well," Cavs swingman
said. "But we got 23 on our side. He just kept on attacking all night long. Our
defense was really solid. We did just enough to win."
LeBron James does it again. USATSI
Kevin Love
Boston Celtics
LeBron James
an
87-79 victory NBA
Jeff Green
Jordan Clarkson
Kyle. Korver

3. Korver, who just four days earlier was in
the same building, sounded stunned that Cleveland actually did it. This is a
team that made a franchise-changing trade last summer, remade the roster at
the trade deadline, finished 29th in defensive rating in the regular season
and almost lost a seven-game series against the in the first
round. In March, Tyronn Lue took a nine-game leave of absence to address
health issues and guard J.R. Smith was suspended for throwing a bowl of
chicken tortilla soup at assistant coach Damon Jones.
"It has been an amazing, crazy, hard year," Korver said. "Emotionally draining.
All the stuff that's gone on, all the storylines -- and that was just in the regular
season. Then you get to the playoffs and, you know, it's just been tough. And
so yeah, I think last year, you kind of just expected it to happen at a certain
point. And this year, you didn't at all. You had to go out and get it."
James said this has felt like six seasons in one. "It's been good, it's been bad,
it's been roses, there have been thorns in the roses," he said. In the regular
season, the Cavs had the point differential of a 44-win team, but managed to
get to 50 because James is phenomenal in crunch time. In the postseason,
they have not exactly transformed into a typical title contender, but they have
papered over their flaws and persevered.
"I really can't believe it, to be honest with you," Korver said.
Smith said it has been an "extremely difficult" year, adding that he doesn't
take it for granted that he gets to play with James, who always seems to find
ways to make the best of bad situations. It took a 46-point, 11-rebound, nine-
assist on Friday just for the team to
have a chance to advance.
"Fortunately for us, we've got easily the best player in the world on our team,"
Smith said.
exasperated with his team's effort
Indiana Pacers
masterpiece from James in Cleveland

4. Lue said he's James' performance was the best he has seen in their time
together, "right there" with his unforgettable Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
Statistically, this wasn't even James' best game of the series, but he did it in a
hostile environment, in a do-or-die game, without taking any breaks, against
NBA
@NBA
LeBron James goes for 35 PTS, 15 REB, 9 AST as the @cavs
advance to their 4th straight #NBAFinals!#WhateverItTakes
#NBAPlayoffs
9:38 AM - May 28, 2018
5,931 2,118 people are talking about this

5. a team that was trying to "make him exert as much energy as humanly
possible," in the words of Celtics coach Brad Stevens.
Stevens, by the way, was pleased with how Boston defended James and
limited open looks for his supporting cast. He called James' Finals streak
"ridiculous," especially considering the pressure and scrutiny James is under.
"I thought it was an outstanding defensive game, and again, he still got 35-15-
9," Stevens said. "It's a joke."
Replace James with another superstar and it is very possible, perhaps even
likely that Boston would have won this battle. The Celtics have more
playmakers and two-way players than the Cavaliers. They are more versatile
and much more athletic. But they do not have James, who -- to borrow a term
from former Cleveland general manager David Griffin -- has the ability to
dictate outcomes like no one else.
"I mean, I don't even know what to say about him anymore," Korver said. "My
respect for him and how he plays the game and how he approaches the
game and how he works on his game … being around him after a year and a
half, it just keeps rising. I thought I had as much respect as I could have for
him, but it just keeps on going up. It's unbelievable. His abilities give the rest
of us confidence. What else are you going to say about him? He's the best."
At the podium, James said he hadn't processed the fact he is going back to
the Finals. He declined to compare the energy he has used this season to
prior ones, but it is obvious that putting this particular team on his back has
been draining. "I'm the leader of this team, and I'm going to give what I've
got," he said. It turns out that, when he is giving everything he has, the Cavs
can overcome all sorts of ugliness.

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James Herbert is somewhat fond of basketball, feature writing and
understatements. A former season-ticket holder for the expansion Toronto
Raptors, Herbert does not think the NBA was better back in the... FULL BIO
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