James pours in 30 as Cavaliers outlast Celtics
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored a season-high 30 points to go with his 12 assists Thursday, including 20 points in the third quarter, in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 128-122 victory against the short-handed Boston Celtics.
Kevin Love scored a season-high 26 points and Kyrie Irving scored 23 for the Cavs, who improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 1976-77 season.
It's only the second time James has been 5-0 in his career. The other time, to start the 2011-12 season, ended in his first NBA championship. And with a road game at the Philadelphia 76ers up next on Saturday, James could easily be looking at 6-0 for the first time in his career.
James' 30 points left him two shy of Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) for 10th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
Isaiah Thomas scored a season-high 30 points and Avery Bradley had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who were wounded and playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Big free agent pickup Al Horford is in the league's concussion protocol after taking a blow to the head in practice this week, while Jae Crowder sprained his ankle in Wednesday's win at Chicago.
The Cavs raced out to a big first-half lead Thursday while James was content to facilitate. He had five assists in the first quarter and eight in the half while the Cavs built an 18-point lead. He kicked into attack mode in the third quarter to keep the lead in double figures following a Boston surge.
The Celtics cut a 20-point deficit down to four in the fourth quarter. They were within 115-109 on a driving layup by Thomas with 3:15 left, but didn't get any closer.
Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs, including 10 rebounds in the first quarter.
NOTES: F LeBron James attended the Cleveland Indians' Game 7 loss in the World Series to the Chicago Cubs. James is 3-4 in championship games. "You never get past the pain. I still think about and dream about or have nightmares about losing in the (NBA) Finals," he said. ... The Cavs and Celtics could meet in the playoffs, but James isn't looking that far ahead. "It's early November," James said. "So we're still trying to implement our system." ... The Celtics were without C Al Horford (concussion) and F Jae Crowder (ankle). C/F Kelly Olynyk continues to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. ... Celtics coach Brad Stevens' wife, Tracy, is a Cleveland native. She flew on the team plane to Cleveland late Wednesday during the World Series. "We lifted off with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, and so we lost internet connection a little bit," Steven said. "And so that was an interesting time to be in the air. We were in suspense for sure."