Kevin Love opened the scoring for the Cavaliers in tonight’s Game 5 matchup of the Eastern Conference Finals. From there, the 6’10” rebounding machine scored six straight points to give the Cavs an early 8-3 lead.

The Celtics were really struggling to find a rhythm, starting just 1-of-5 from downtown through the first four minutes of the opening frame.

The Cavs were quick to take advantage of Boston’s poor shooting, extending their lead to nine and forcing a timeout from Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.

LeBron James, who was said to be dealing with a “bug,” then pushed Cleveland’s advantage to 13 with a driving layup. It was early, but the crowd inside TD Garden grew quiet. Just moments later, the King rocked the rim with a one-handed jam, forcing coach Stevens to call yet another timeout. All of a sudden, the Cavs were up by 16 points.

Kyle Korver came off the bench and did Korver-like things, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers — his first two shots of the game. The Cavs, now leading by 20, were simply pulling away.

After one period of play, the Cavs had scored a franchise-high for any postseason quarter and led the Celtics, 43-27.

As he often does, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue called on his reserves to start the second quarter. Cleveland’s momentum continued to build. At one point, the champs were up by 21 points.

The crowd finally came to life when the Celtics cut their deficit to 18. However, their joy was short-lived, as Deron Williams answered with a pair of three’s. “D-Will,” as Williams is known, tallied 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the second quarter alone.

Despite a brief run from Boston, Cleveland held an 18-point advantage at the halftime horn, 75-57. The Cavs’ 75 first-half points set a new franchise record.

Coming out of the locker room, the Cavs continued to build on their lead. Kyrie Irving strapped on his welding goggles and torched the Celtics for thirteen straight points, pushing Cleveland’s advantage to 23.

J.R. Smith, who recently welcomed his daughter home from the NICU ward after an extensive stay, gave the Cavs a 30-point lead by way of an open three. Shortly after that, James became the new postseason points leader with a pair of three’s, passing the legendary Michael Jordan.

After three quarters of play, the Cavs were up by 35 points, 109-74.

In an act of good sportsmanship, coach Lue sent several of his reserves out to start the final quarter.

In the end, Cleveland’s big lead was just too much for Boston to overcome. When the dust settled inside The Garden, the Cavs had won their third consecutive Eastern Conference championship by way of a 135-102 victory.

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Tonight’s game ball goes to LeBron James. In his 35 minutes of playing time, the King turned in 35 points (13-of-18 from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc), eight assists, eight rebounds, three steals, and one block.

The Cavaliers will now face the Golden State Warriors for an unprecedented third consecutive season in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is set for June 1st at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.