Norman Vergara - AHN Sports Writer
Cleveland, OH (AHN) - LeBron James carried the fight once again despite being mired in a horrible shooting slump and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended Boston's futility on the road with an 88-77 victory in Game 4 Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
James continued to falter with his shooting percentage in the series, which now stands at a paltry 20-of-78, but the Cavaliers star fired the needed points right where it mattered most-the fourth period.
The young forward scampered for four assists, a huge three-pointer and a resounding slam dunk over Defensive Player of the Year winner Kevin Garnett, all in the final nine minutes of the game when the Cavaliers put the clamps on the Celtics.
Boston was searching for answers down the stretch and as Cleveland poured it on, the Celtics were already yearning for TD Banknorth Garden, where they won all games in this year's postseason.
On the road, the Celtics fell to 0-5 and the vaunted "Big Three" could not save the team from getting the series knotted at two apiece. Garnett and Ray Allen tallied 15 points each while Paul Pierce scored 13 but the three combined for just 16-of-40 from the field.
As a team, Boston shot 39 percent from the floor and made just 3-of-14 from three-point territory. The Celtics also yielded eight more assists against the Cavaliers.
Rajon Rondo added 15 points, four assists and two steals while P.J. Brown had eight points and six rebounds for the Celtics.
James led Cleveland with 21 points on 7-of-20 shooting and Daniel Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak had 14 each. Anderson Varejao chipped in 12 points and also put the defensive clamps on Garnett several times on the floor.
Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas combined for just 15 points on 6-of-18 clip from the field.
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