Things were shaky for the Cavaliers for much of their 101-93 victory Saturday night over visiting Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Entering the game, there were all kinds of questions, and maybe a few concerns, regarding James' right elbow -- which ached so badly that he shot his final free throw of the first round with his left hand. An MRI revealed nothing more than a strain and a bruise, but no one was sure how it would hold up against the physical Celtics. But 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists later, it appears James and his elbow is both just fine. He also drained eight of his first nine foul shots, finishing 8-for-11 on the night.
Williams finished with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. After watching Rondo do his best Oscar Robertson imitation for the majority of the first half, Williams finally seemed to have seen enough in the third quarter. It all started with the Cavs trailing 69-60 and five minutes to go. That's when Williams dribbled down the middle of the lane on a fast-break and dunked right over top of Celtics forward Paul Pierce. He hit a 15-footer following the dunk, then a floater in the key following a basket by Boston's Kevin Garnett. In case all that wasn't enough, Williams buried a pair of free throws a minute or so later. By the time he was finished, the Celtics still led 73-68 with 3:10 left in the third, but it was clear the wheels were coming off. And by the time the fourth quarter started, the Cavs had taken a 79-78 lead.
The teams exchanged a few baskets, with James knocking down a floater to make it 96-93 with 1:45 to go. Forty seconds later, O'Neal followed in his own miss (well, actually two misses) to make it 98-93. The Celtics turned it over on their next possession, and James capped the scoring with a 3-pointer at the 22-second mark.
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