Originally published Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Boston 76, Cleveland 72 | Celtics ride Kevin Garnett to Game 1 victory over Cavs

LeBron James drove to the basket, the lane surprisingly clear. He reached out toward the rim, rolled the ball off his fingertips ... And missed. Again and...

By JIMMY GOLEN

The Associated Press

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MICHAEL DWYER / AP

The Cavaliers' LeBron James, center, shoots between the Celtics' Kevin Garnett, right, and Kendrick Perkins,

BOSTON — LeBron James drove to the basket, the lane surprisingly clear. He reached out toward the rim, rolled the ball off his fingertips ...

And missed.

Again and again (and one more time, when it was too late anyway), James' shots went awry in the final minute, completing one of the worst nights of his career and giving the Boston Celtics a 76-72 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Boston.

"This was two heavyweights, just body-punching," said Kevin Garnett, who scored 28 points to make up for an off night for the rest of Boston's Big Three. "There was no finesse, no jabs, just an all-out, beat-down, defensive fight."

Boston held James to 12 points on 2-for-18 shooting; only once in his career has he made fewer baskets. He missed three drives and a three-pointer in the final minute, including a tying finger roll with 8.5 seconds left.

"I missed a lot of shots I know I can make," James said, staring at the stat sheet incredulously after scoring just two points in the second half and missing his last six shots in all. "I missed layups. Those layups I've made my whole life."

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of the Celtics weren't doing any bragging, either. Pierce scored four points on 2-for-14 shooting; Allen went 0 for 4 from the field for his first scoreless performance in his last 852 games since 1997.

"Me and Ray, we figure if we play him to a standstill ... we give ourselves the best chance," said Pierce, smiling. "He is not going to go 2 for 18 every game but, hey, we're going to do our best to try to make him."

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