The Cleveland Cavaliers came in to the TD Garden on Thursday night with a lot of focus and looking to eliminate the Boston Celtics, en route to another finals appearance. Led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the defending champions scored 75 points at the end of the second quarter and led by 18 at that point.
The high-scoring half allowed them to set the franchise record for most points scored in a playoff game in the first 24 minutes of action. It was also the highest output of any team in the postseason since 2003.
The Cavaliers never looked back from that point on, and even applied more gas on the pedal as the game wore on. The night ended with the defending champions setting up a rubber match with the Golden State Warriors.
James finished the night with 35 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and a block — in only three quarters, further stamping his class in what has been one of the best postseason runs in NBA history.
