Game 1 round 2 Boston Celtics vs LeBron's Cavs 2008 Playoffs

BOSTON -- LeBron James drove to the basket, the lane surprisingly clear. He reached out toward the rim, rolled the ball off his fingertips ...

And missed.

Again and again (and one more time, when it was too late anyway), James' shots went awry in the final minute, completing one of the worst nights of his career and giving the Boston Celtics a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Boston.

"This was two heavyweights, just body-punching," said Kevin Garnett, who scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston's Big Three. "There was no finesse, no jabs, just an all-out, beat-down, defensive fight."

Boston held James to 12 points on 2-for-18 shooting; only once in his career has he made fewer baskets. He missed three drives and a 3-pointer in the final minute, including the potential game-tying finger roll with 8.5 seconds left.

"I missed a lot of shots I know I can make," James said, staring at the stat sheet incredulously after scoring just two points in the second half and missing his final six shots in all. "I missed layups. Those layups I've made my whole life."

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Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics weren't doing any bragging, either. Pierce scored four points on 2-for-14 shooting; combined with Allen's 0-for-4 from the field for his first scoreless performance in his past 852 games since 1997.

Combined, they matched the dud James put out there miss-for-miss.

"Me and Ray, we figure if we play him to a standstill ... we give ourselves the best chance," Pierce said. "He is not going to go 2-for-18 every game but, hey, we're going to do our best to try to make him."

At least Pierce could smile about it.

Despite the worst offensive playoff performance of his career, he drew two charging fouls against James and the Celtics protected the home-court advantage that helped them win their first-round series against Atlanta in seven games and could take them all the way to their NBA-record 17th championship.

They can thank their MVP candidate, Garnett, who finished third in the voting announced Tuesday, behind winner Kobe Bryant and runner-up Chris Paul. James finished fourth.

"That is why we have three superstars," said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, who had 12 rebounds.

And Cleveland only has one.

Only once has James made fewer than two baskets -- in a Dec. 29, 2004, game against Houston when he missed all five shots in just 17 minutes. "I fractured my cheekbone," he said immediately when asked about it.

He'll remember this one, too.

James scored Cleveland's first basket and then missed his next 10 shots before driving for a layup that cut Boston's lead to 66-65 with 5:34 left. He finished with nine rebounds, nine assists and 10 turnovers.

"He had a tough night, and he is entitled to it," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "Knowing him, he will definitely bounce back in Game 2."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 31 percent and couldn't make a basket at the end of the game.

Boston led 68-65 when Daniel Gibson hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 3:18 left.

Ilgauskas made a jumper on a feed from James with 90 seconds left, then Garnett hit a fallaway to make it 70-all. James drove against Pierce and flopped to the court while throwing up a desperation layup that wasn't close.

Sam Cassell made two free throws to tie it 72-72; James missed again, but this time Ilgauskas was there to tip it in and tie the game. Garnett moved across the lane to give Boston back the lead, 74-72 as Cleveland called a timeout with 22 seconds left.

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[draft797]

@AdrianAquino22 but they didn't

[AdrianAquino22]

if the Cavaliers would had won this series, the Lakers would had been the champions of that year :)

[TheBulls7210]

@2pacisthebest90 thats why yallk got sweeped by a suckish team

[2pacisthebest90]

kobe is the best!!

[kiXzB]

@dutto7 wheres that video? oh you mean the rondo highlights?

[113naw]

@wildarms2131 Forget about the Cavs, Lebron James is who's making the Cavs good. He'll be the best basketball player ever when Kobe retires : )

[wildarms2131]

@dutto7 where's your cavs now?

[dutto7]

gee i wonder if this guy is a celts fan...ill be sure to make a video just like this after the cavs take you down in 2010...BEWARE!

[michaelgonz967]

the2008playoffsblitz ok, other things can I say. Anyone who owns or plays with a bball need to all learn how to dunk, I simply just a short time ago finished the workout system over at 50inch vertical[dot]com - It's' great! (I'm just 5'6!)

Game 1 round 2 Boston Celtics vs LeBron's Cavs 2008 Playoffs

[adrianburgueno]

LeBron A BeAsT