James closes out Celtics

CLEVELAND -- There was no consensus about what went wrong for the Celtics last night.

Coach Doc Rivers faulted the inconsistent play of the kids. Kendrick Perkins singled out a lack of ball movement. Paul Pierce blamed poor defense. They all could make a legitimate case. It was an unfortunate confluence of poor play at both ends that led to Boston's 94-82 loss to the Cavaliers.

The Celtics shared responsibility, which is ironic because they did not share the ball on many possessions, nor did they share the defensive assignment on LeBron James effectively in the end. The Celtics struggled from the floor (37 percent) and allowed James to score 19 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. It was James's season high for points in a quarter.

With the kind of performance fans at the soldout Quicken Loans Arena have come to expect from James, he wasted no time taking over in the final period. Cleveland's resident superstar provided the final 6 points -- a 3-point play and a trey in Pierce's face -- of an 11-4 run to open the fourth. For both the Cavaliers and James, that spurt set the tone for the rest of game. The Celtics would stay close and draw within 1 point on a few occasions, but they never regained the lead.

With 3 minutes, 37 seconds remaining, Donyell Marshall delivered a devastating blow when he nailed a 3-pointer that pushed Cleveland ahead by 6 points (81-75). Another 3-pointer by Marshall, this one with 77 seconds remaining, extended the Cleveland advantage to 9. It was only fitting that James set the final margin of victory, hitting a 3-pointer one minute later. With James leading the way in the fourth, the Cavaliers shot 63 percent, a remarkable reversal from the first quarter when they missed their first 11 shots.

''I know a lot of people think we are playing struggling teams that are sub .500, but you have to learn to win all of those games," said Marshall (14 points).

With the loss, the Celtics (29-41) missed an opportunity to gain ground on the 76ers, who lost, 102-86, to the Magic last night. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers reached the 40-win plateau and drew one game closer to earning a playoff berth for the first time since 1998. As the Cavaliers learn lessons they hope will make them a tough playoff team, the Celtics learn lessons they hope will make them more competitive next season. That was the most positive way to interpret Rivers's postgame comments.

''Our veterans came to play," said Rivers. ''The one thing with our young guys is until they each understand their roles, we are going to struggle in games where we need them . . . It's tough because they're young, but they do it for a game or two then they get outside their body. One of them will score, then he wants the ball every time instead of understanding the reason they all score when they're in together is because they play together. It is a great lesson on team basketball for them."

The other lesson from last night would be to take advantage of big opportunities. No matter when they occur. Boos were replaced by stunned silence as Cleveland failed to make a shot early in the first quarter. The home team went 0 for 11 before Zydrunas Ilgauskas converted a layup with 6:44 remaining in the first. While the Cavaliers struggled, the Celtics jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the visitors could have established a larger lead if not for their own offensive ineptitude. Boston opened the contest 3 for 14 from the floor.

By the end of the second quarter, the Celtics would come to regret not taking greater advantage of Cleveland's poor start. With 46.9 seconds remaining in the second, James tied the game, 38-38, on a fast-break layup. That was where matters stood at halftime.

Coming back from 9-point deficit, the Cavaliers took the lead for the first time, 52-51, on a 16-footer by Eric Snow with 4:58 left in the third. Cleveland stretched its advantage to 3 points on another basket from Snow, Then, Pierce (24 points) went to work. He nailed a 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining to put Boston back in front. The Celtics held James to just 3 points (1 for 5, no trips to the foul line) in the quarter. At the other end, another 3-pointer by Pierce broke a 56-56 tie and the Celtics started the fourth with a 59-58 lead.

''We were just really flat coming out," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown. ''As the ballgame went along, every quarter we got a little bit tougher. Not only did we get tougher physically, but more importantly, we got tougher mentally."