Cavaliers 122, Celtics 121
LeBron James had 41 points and seven assists as visiting Cleveland rallied from a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Boston.
Kyrie Irving added 27 points and Anderson Varejao finished with 16 for the Cavaliers. Kevin Love contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds but shot 2-for 10 from the field and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, and Dion Waiters led the Cleveland reserves with 10 points.
Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points to lead the Celtics, who still led by 12 with 6:30 left. Jared Sullinger had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo distributed 16 assists for Boston.
James made one of two free throws with 36 seconds left to give the Cavaliers the final one-point lead. After a turnover by Rondo and a missed layup by Irving on the other end, Rondo couldn’t get off a final shot after the Celtics in-bounded the ball on their end of the floor with seven seconds left.
Shawn Marion cut the 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to six with a layup with 4:30 left in the game and Joe Harris made it a three-point spread with a 3-pointer with 3:16 on the clock. James then took over and his three-point play with 1:11 remaining moved Cleveland ahead 120-118.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rondo moved past Paul Pierce for fourth on the all-time assist list for Boston, trailing Larry Bird, John Havlicek and Bob Cousy…. Celtics reserve G Marcus Thornton returned after missing Wednesday’s game against the Thunder with a sprained ankle and scored 12 points. … James scored at least 20 points against the Celtics for the 34th straight game while also moving past former Celtics C Robert Parish for 24th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.