LAS VEGAS - When LeBron James vowed to play better in Thursday’s Game 2, it didn't seem like much of a stretch. In a series that has seen so much go wrong for the superstar, he didn't even get that right.

Paul Pierce scored 19 points and Ray Allen broke out of his slump by scoring all of his 16 in the second half to help frustrate James at every turn during the Boston Celtics' 89-73 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.

The Celtics easily covered as 8 ½-point home favorites, while the combined 172 points dipped ‘under’ the 177 ½-point closing total.

Kevin Garnett chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, which shook off a slow start to grab a 2-0 lead in the series and improve to 6-0 SU at home this postseason.

The Celtics will attempt to put a stranglehold on the series Saturday in Cleveland, where Boston has dropped its last five efforts dating to the 2004 season. If James does not find his game there, the Cavs may not make it back to Boston again this season.

A five-time All-Star, James scored 21 points but needed 24 shots to accomplish the feat. He also turned the ball over seven times. He is 8-of-42 from the floor with 17 turnovers in the series overall.

Similar to Game 1 when he made only two baskets, James was forced to take a host of jumpers, missing on too many for Cleveland to have any chance.

The 23-year-old actually started fine Thursday. He threw down a dunk on an alley-oop pass and scored on a nearly impossible reverse to cap Cleveland's game-opening 21-9 run. However, the Cavaliers had just three field goals in the final 15-plus minutes of the first half and slowly saw their lead - and their superstar - evaporate.

James struggled throughout the drought. He went 0-of-5 from the floor in the second quarter - including two airballs - and saw Boston take its first lead (28-27) midway through when James Posey stripped him and went all the way to the basket for a dunk.

The Celtics outscored the Cavaliers in the second quarter, 27-12 thanks to Leon Powe’s seven points and six rebounds. They took their largest lead of the half (39-30) on a jumper by Pierce after James missed both ends of a 1-and-1. That delighted a jumpy Boston crowd that was getting on James with every mistake.

Allen, who was held scoreless in the opener for the first time since 1997, scored his first points of the series to open the second half, igniting a 12-0 burst that opened things up. The sharpshooting Allen had been 0-of-8 from the floor and had a rare free throw miss in the first half before finally breaking into the scoring column.

James' first two touches of the second half resulted in a turnover and a missed jumper. He didn't score again until hitting a jumper with 5:04 left in the third that pulled Cleveland within 12 points. It was James' first field goal since the tricky reverse late in the first and the only basket he had across the second and third quarters.

A defining moment in the contest occurred late in the third quarter when Garnett ripped a James jumper from the air after a whistle was blown, much to the delight of the Garden fans. Boston had already been called for a technical foul, so James stepped to the line to shoot the free throw seconds later, only to miss that, too.

James was 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. The miss helped Boston carry a 19-point advantage into the final stanza.

The Celtics lead grew to as many as 24 points in the fourth as they won by at least 18 points for the fifth time in the playoffs, all at home.

Boston will attempt to win its first road game of the postseason Saturday after dropping all three in the first round at Atlanta.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 10 of his 19 points in the game's first eight-plus minutes to spark Cleveland early. Wally Szczerbiak added 13 points.

Cleveland center Ben Wallace is doubtful for Game 3 due to allergies and a viral inner
ear infection.

Boston is 31-10 SU and 27-13-1 ATS on the road this season and 9-5-1 ATS in its last 15 games against the Cavs at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland is 27-14 SU at home, but just 15-26 ATS. The ‘under’ is 6-1 in Cleveland’s last seven home games.

May 9, 2008