LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — LeBron James finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers reached their fourth straight NBA finals with an 87-79 game-seven victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
James put on another epic game-seven performance by rallying his team in the second half as he booked a spot in his eighth consecutive finals.
Cleveland became the first team to win on the road in the series and the first to beat the Celtics at home in the postseason.
The Cavaliers will take on either the reigning champion Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets in the championship series. The Warriors dominated the Rockets 115-86 on Saturday to force a decisive game seven which will take place Monday in Houston.
James led the Cavaliers in the first half with 17 points and 10 rebounds but they trailed for much of the half.
It wasn’t until the third quarter that his supporting staff came to life and the Cavaliers were able to wrestle control back from the Celtics.
Jeff Green finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, J.R. Smith tallied 12 points and Tristan Thompson scored 10 for Cleveland who beat Boston 109-99 on Friday to force game seven.
Jayson Tatum paced the Celtic attack with 24 points as Boston suffered their only loss in 11 playoff home games.
Al Horford finished with 17 points and Jaylen Brown had 13 but he was just three-of-12 from the three-point line. Boston shot a dismal seven-of-39 overall from beyond the arc.
© Agence France-Presse