LeBron James' Triple-Double Not Enough To Beat Celtics In Game 2

The Boston Celtics went 2-0 up after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-94 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night at the TD Garden to strengthen their hold on the series.

The LeBron James led Cavaliers were favorite to progress to their third straight NBA Finals before the best of seven series got underway, but two spirited performances with different approaches have seen the Celtics take a 2-0 lead.

The 2008 NBA champions dominated the Cavaliers in Game 1 from the first quarter to complete a dominant 108-83 win, but in the second game on Tuesday, they had to come back from a double digit deficit in the second quarter to win the game.

James completed his fifth 40+ point scoring game of the 2018 post-season while also recording his third triple-double with 40 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. But it was not enough to help his team over the line.

The Celtics won the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Cavaliers 36-22 to overturn a seven-point deficit at half-time to a seven lead after the third. They again outscored their opponents 23-17 in the fourth to increase their lead to 13 when the clock ran out.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue wants his team to be tougher going into the next two games when they will be playing at home. He remains confident that his team will play better when they come out in front of their home fans at the Quicken Loans Arena in Ohio.

The former Los Angeles Lakers player admits his team wanted to win at least one of their away games, but has called on them to be more aggressive and is confident that they can turn it around at home.

“We got to be tougher. They [Celtics] are playing tougher than we are, we see that,” coach Lue said after the Cavaliers’ Game 2 loss. “They are being physical and we need to do the same thing, we got to be tougher mentally and physically.”

“The reality is they did what they are supposed to do, they took care of their home court. We had to win one game here that was our mindset, but going back home we know we will play better," he said.

“Celtics have shown that they have not played well on the road. In the playoffs they played great at home, so we got to come out swinging, we got to be aggressive. I think we got to be physical and we got to have a physical mindset. You know they are coming here and playing tough and being aggressive and we got to match that,” the Cavaliers head coach added.

The two teams have a three-day break before the Celtics travel to Oakland for Game 3 in the best of seven series. The game will tip off Saturday night at 8 p.m. EDT with live TV coverage provided on ESPN in the United States.