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LeBron James is heading to his eighth straight NBA Finals, as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 87-79 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
James, who played all 48 minutes in the game, scored 35 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists Sunday night.
It was the closest, as well as the lowest scoring, game of the series.
"It was a pretty incredible run by an incredible group of guys," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens after the game. "An absolute privilege to be around them every day."
Stevens told his team that the pain is part of the path, following the crushing loss.
Boston's game plan was to wear down James. "Our goal was to make him exert as much energy as humanly possible ... For the most part, I thought we were pretty good at that."
The Cavs move on to face either the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors. Those teams play in game seven of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night.
This was the first time a Celtics team has lost a playoff series after leading two games to none.
Jayson Tatum scored 24 for Boston in the effort. A silver lining? Stevens says the rookie 'can get a lot better.'
Tatum said of his teammates, "I would've went to war with every single one of those guys any night."
The Celtics have not returned to the NBA Finals since 2010.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports