Cavaliers thump Celtics

In control: LeBron James, who led Cavaliers’ charge, drives to the basket against Celtics’ Terry Rozier.

In control: LeBron James, who led Cavaliers’ charge, drives to the basket against Celtics’ Terry Rozier.  

LeBron James leads from the front as host cuts the deficit to 2-1

LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed Boston Celtics 116-86 on Saturday, powering their way back into their NBA Eastern Conference finals.

The Cavaliers trimmed the deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1 — avoiding the 0-3 hole from which no NBA team has returned to win a series. They’ll try to even things up when they host game four on Monday.

The Cavaliers, trying to return to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight year, insisted after two double-digit defeats in Boston that things would be different on their home floor.

Early lead

They wasted no time in making it so, racing to a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter, which they ended leading 32-17.

By then, James and George Hill had already scored more than 10 points apiece, and half a dozen Cavaliers players finished by scoring in double digits.

James led the way with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists along with two steals and three blocked shots.

But James, whose 42-point triple double was in vain in game two, got plenty of support in a game in which Cleveland never trailed.

Kyle Korver scored 14 points off the bench. Hill and Kevin Love scored 13 apiece, J.R. Smith chipped in 11 and Tristan Thompson scored 10.

“We were really good,” James said. “We had our focus and offensively and defensively we made plays.”

Hill and Smith came into the contest having been outscored by Boston’s Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown 72-12 over the first two games.

Brown, who scored 23 points in each of the first two games, finished with 10 points and five fouls. He didn’t score at all until the second quarter. Rozier scored 13, but connected on just five of 12 shots from the floor.

“I thought everybody came in and contributed in some way,” said Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue. “So it was good for us to have everybody touch the basketball and play well.”

The result: Cleveland Cavaliers 116 (James 27, Korver 14, Love 13, Hill 13, Smith 11, Thompson 100 bt Boston Celtics 86 (Tatum 18, Rozier 13, Brown 10, Monroe 10). Celtics lead 2-1.