History was made Thursday night in “The Garden.”
LeBron James scored 35 points and passed Michael Jordan as the NBA’s all-time playoff leading scorer as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics 135-102 to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title and another trip to the NBA Finals.
The 4-1 series-clinching win was also part of another record as the Cavs recorded their 13th consecutive series closeout opportunity.
For the game, James just missed out on a triple-double with eight rebounds and eight assists. LeBron’s 30-plus points was the 11th time in 13 games this postseason and helped the Cavs set a franchise record with a playoff-high 43 points in the first quarter.
After a surprising loss to Boston at home, the Cavs responded to close out the series and improve to 12-1 this postseason and set up its third consecutive NBA Finals matchup with Golden State.
Next Thursday will also mark LeBron’s seventh consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. for James.
Will the East ever stop him?
Golden State will try and win its second title in three years after splitting the regular season (1-1) with the Cavs.
