Now the Cavaliers have reason to be concerned | Jeff Schudel

Things were grim for the Cavaliers on May 13 after they lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Boston Celtics, 108-83. But LeBron James said he wasn’t worried.

“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” James said in his postgame news conference.

That meter moved in the wrong direction on May 15 in Game 2 at TD Garden when the Celtics played flawlessly in the second half to win, 107-94, and take a 2-0 series lead.

James looked like a different player in Game 2. But it didn’t matter, and that’s why the Cavs should be concerned even with the series shifting to Quicken Loans Arena on May 19.

It is fortunate for the Cavs there are three days before the next game, because they are going to need that much time to figure out what went wrong. The Cavaliers showed more energy in Game 2 — in spurts, anyway — but were overmatched by Boston’s poise. The Cavaliers are supposed to be the team that plays like it’s been here before. Instead the Celtics are playing like defending conference champions.

“We have to be tougher,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after the game. “They’re playing tougher than we are. We see that. They’re being physical. We have to be tougher mentally and physically.”

After scoring only 15 points in Game 1, James scored 21 in the first quarter of Game 2. That’s three more points than the Cavaliers scored as a team in the first quarter of Game 1. He finished the game with 42. He had a triple double, adding 10 rebounds and 12 assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Celtics solid team effort.

James had 25 points in the first half in 18 minutes, but the Cavaliers led by only 55-50. Instead of the Celtics being discouraged by the way James dominated the first half, they were energized by being only five behind.

It hasn’t taken long for the Cavaliers to realize Boston isn’t going to fold under James’ glare. They outscored the Cavaliers, 36-22, in the third quarter by playing more the way they did in Game 1 – finding the open man on the perimeter or under the hoop.

James started the fourth quarter on the bench and with 11 minutes to play, he and Kevin Love were both out of the game. James was back in with 10:41 remaining and Love followed quickly, but they could not save the day.

The Celtics smothered the Cavaliers defensively. They made only five turnovers compared to 15 turnovers by the Cavaliers — another example of the Celtics’ poise.

A driving layup and a free throw by James cut Boston’s lead to 95-87. Thirty-two seconds later, after Love rebounded a missed shot by Al Horford, James hit a 17-foot jumper to make it a six-point game with 4:41 to play and still the Celtics did not falter.

The Cavaliers started to crack under the pressure. Cavs guard J.R. Smith, who did nothing positive in either of the first two games, shoved Al Horford in the back to draw a flagrant-1.

Smith’s silly foul is just one example of how the Cavaliers came unglued.

Reach Schudel at JSchudel@News-Herald.com. On Twitter: @jsproinsider