Cavaliers avenge prior loss to Celtics, 108-88

BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James had 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Mo Williams scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers surged past the Boston Celtics 108-88 on Thursday night.

James kept the Cavaliers in it for three quarters on a night they lost Shaquille O’Neal to a first-half thumb injury, then Williams made four 3-pointers when Cleveland blew by the Celtics in the fourth, outscoring them 35-14.

Ray Allen scored 21 points, and Rajon Rondo had 19 points and 11 assists for the Celtics, who badly missed injured All-Star Paul Pierce (right thumb) when their offense went stagnant in the final 1 1/2 quarters.

Cleveland improved to 20-10 on the road, tying Boston for the best in the NBA, and avenged a 95-89 home loss on opening night.

Cleveland outscored Boston 60-32 in the second half, allowing just five baskets in the final 17 1/2 minutes.

The Cavaliers trailed for nearly all the first three quarters, then quickly took control in the fourth. Williams’ basket gave them the lead for good at 79-78 with 9:13 to play, and he drilled consecutive 3-pointers to extend it to 93-83 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

James had the next four points to make it a 14-point game in another big night against the NBA’s most storied franchise. He came in averaging 30.2 points against Boston, just shy of Michael Jordan’s 30.7 mark for best in NBA history.

He had to do a little extra after O’Neal appeared to be hurt when Celtics forward Glen Davis whacked his hand while trying to block a shot with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. O’Neal left for good about 30 seconds later, and the report said he had a “significant” right thumb sprain.

Cleveland’s defense finally arrived after halftime. The Cavaliers limited the Celtics to 6-of-20 shooting in the third quarter, trimming the lead to 74-73 after James made a free throw with 0.4 seconds left, giving him 11 points in the period.