CLEVELAND Playoffs in sight as Cavs top Celts

The Cavaliers have not been to the postseason since 1998.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- LeBron James again thrilled the crowd with a final shot -- and a whole lot more.
Two nights after winning a game at the buzzer for the first time in his career, James scored 19 of his 36 points in the final quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 94-82 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
"I wanted to be aggressive and put them away," James said as the Cavaliers moved closer to their first playoff berth in eight years. "It's a big win, but we can't slip. We're riding high, but have to keep our focus."
Standings scenario
Any combination of Cleveland wins and Chicago Bulls losses totalling three will put the Cavaliers into the postseason for the first time since 1998 -- when James was a gangly 13-year-old learning the game 40 miles away in Akron.
Paul Pierce scored 24 points to lead Boston, which has lost five of seven and trails the Philadelphia 76ers by 4 1/2 games for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
"We're still in it," said Pierce. "Our series with Chicago is big."
The Celtics play the Bulls twice in the next seven days.
James, who also had eight assists, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and no turnovers, hurt both of those teams' playoff hopes. He made three terrific plays in a 24-second span to cap his highest-scoring quarter of the season.
He scored on an off-balance drive to the basket that left him sprawled along the baseline, but quickly got up and raced down court to steal the ball from Pierce. James then dribbled back the other way and hit a final 3-pointer to bring the sellout crowd to its feet with 18 seconds left.
Coach's comment
"LeBron was phenomenal," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "Paul didn't have that great a night, but he still came to play."
Pierce was not nearly as sharp as the last time the teams met in Boston on Feb. 15. He scored a career-high 50 points that night in a double-overtime loss as James scored 43 and had a triple-double.
Pierce shot 6-for-20 and seemed slowed by a mild ankle sprain suffered Monday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I normally make those shots, but the ball didn't bounce our way," said Pierce.
Cleveland, which missed 11 of 23 free throws, finally took command on six straight points by James. He converted an offensive rebound and hit a free throw for a three-point play, then 30 seconds later hit a 3 from the corner for a 69-63 lead with eight minutes left.
"We had our spirit broken and never got back into the game," said Rivers.
The Cavaliers extended the lead to 88-79 on a 3-pointer by Donyell Marshall with 1:17 to play. Marshall scored 14 points as Cleveland's reserves outscored the Celtics bench 22-11.
Confident
"We're learning to close out games," said Marshall. "Winning games like this shows we're a playoff team. We're going to go, we know that."
Both teams shot poorly in the first half. Cleveland opened 0-for-11 from the field, but trailed only 7-0 as the Celtics went only 3-for-15.
The Cavaliers gradually got back into the game and forced a 38-38 halftime tie.
Raef LaFrentz and Delonte West hit 3-pointers to help Boston open the second half with an 11-2 run to lead 49-40.
The Cavaliers then used a 12-3 spurt to finally take their first lead at 52-51 with 4:58 left in the third quarter on a baseline jumper by Eric Snow.