Hands Down, Man's Down

His last words at the podium before getting on the bus to Logan Airport last night said it all: “A LeBron James team is never desperate.”

That’s about all James could say after his Cavaliers dropped a difficult 96-89 loss in Boston, and now face elimination on Friday night at The Q. Throughout the postseason, LeBron has said that – as the team’s leader – if he seems rattled, the team will get rattled. If he is poised and confident, the team will be poised and confident.

LeBron’s past numbers indicated that he would have a big Game 5 in Boston – and he did.

In his two previous playoffs appearances, in Game 5s with a series tied 2-2, LeBron has averaged 41.7 points, seven boards and six assists. He didn’t reach those numbers on Wednesday night, but after the way Cleveland has played in Boston, you might have thought 35 would put them over the top.

“As an individual, I don’t care how well I play offensively,” said James. “If you don’t win that’s all that matters to me. I’d rather play bad and shoot bad from the field and turn the ball over a couple a times and get a win. My individual play doesn’t mean anything when you lose.”

Of course, LeBron’s production wasn’t the problem last night. The Celtics got big games from two of their big three, plus a huge lift from Rajon Rondo. From midway through the second quarter, Boston seemed to get every loose ball, every call and every offensive rebound – including the game-clinching board by Ray Allen with the Cavaliers trailing by four – 89-93 – with 19 seconds to play.

The Wine and Gold have no one but themselves to blame. They shot just 63 percent from the stripe in the second half. They had two fewer assists as a team than Rajon Rondo had individually. And Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who dominated Kendrick Perkins through the first two games of the series in Beantown, took only two shots in the second half on Wednesday.

“I just couldn’t get any shots,” said Z following the tough loss. “I’ve got to find my way to somehow get myself more involved. It’s up to me to figure it out somehow.”

The Cavaliers didn’t get a ton from anyone other than Delonte West – who led everyone with 16 points in the second half. West had four steals and four dimes and, maybe most importantly, was aggressive getting to the rim.

“The outside shot wasn’t falling and, when you’re on the road, that’s what you have to do – you try to force the referees to make some calls,” said the Cavaliers starting point man.

The small lineup of West and Daniel Gibson was very effective in the first half, but Boobie was forced from action early in the fourth quarter when he seperated his left shoulder on a collision with P.J. Brown.

The unexpected hero of last year's postseason might be done for this year's. Gibson had an MRI on Thursday morning and is expected to miss one to two weeks.

The Cavaliers were not dour in the locker room following Wednesday night’s loss. It was more an air of determination. Wally Szczerbiak – the only other Cavalier to net double-figures – put it bluntly. “Well our backs are against the wall, we’re desperate,” said Szczerbiak, apparently not getting LeBron’s memo. “So we’ve got to play that way, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get a win at home – like we did in Games 3 and 4 – and take it one step at a time.”

Delonte West boarded the bus out of the arena, saying – in “colorful” language he later excused himself for – that the Cavaliers would see Boston again on Sunday afternoon for Game 7.

“This is one game, and this (series) is like a heavyweight fight,” said West. “You ain’t gonna win every round. The fight’s not over, so we’re gonna regroup, get back to Cleveland, and get ready for Game 6.”