Boston Celtics wins series 4-2 against Cleveland Cavaliers and advances to Eastern Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 94-85 victory over Cleveland in Game 6 on Thursday, eliminating and sending LeBron James and the Cavs to an early offseason vacation.

Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and added 12 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assists to reach the East finals facing against the Orlando Magic, who are unbeaten in the playoffs after sweeping Charlotte and Atlanta in the opening rounds.

“Winning is gratifying. You’re playing the best team in basketball; the challenge is there; you don’t have to dress it up,” Garnett said. “One thing we don’t lack is confidence. We’re a veteran team and we understand when it’s time to lock in as a group. We did just that.”

Despite his sixth career playoff triple-double, James is headed for another premature offseason after winning a second MVP award and leading the Cavs to an NBA-best 61 wins in the regular season.

“The regular season is a lot different than the postseason,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “We knew that they were going to be a different team. We hoped that we were. Boston stepped up, and we didn’t.”

This offseason is destined to define the future of the franchise—and the rest of the NBA, too.

James is eligible to opt out of his contract this summer, a move that would make the two-time MVP a free agent and set off a scramble for his services from New York to Miami to Los Angeles and, of course, back in Cleveland.

“I just told him, ‘Keep your head up, man. I’ve been there,”’ said Garnett, who was a star without a title in Minnesota for more than a decade before joining the Celtics and leading them to their NBA-record 17th championship in 2008. “You have a very, very, very bright future. Continue to work and make decisions based on you and your family. Best advice I can give him.”

James scored 27 points with 10 assists, and his 19 rebounds matched a career-high and were the most he’s ever had in a playoff game. But he also had nine turnovers. Mo Williams scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half for the Cavaliers.

James hadn’t made an outside shot before hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to cut it to 78-74 early in the fourth quarter. But Rondo’s layup, a pair of 3s for Pierce and Wallace and then Tony Allen’s steal, leading to a Garnett dunk at the other end, sent the Cavaliers into a timeout to regroup, down 88-74 with 5:53 left in their season.

It was the second straight year Cleveland has finished the regular-season with the No. 1 overall seed, and the second in a row that they have failed to get out of the East. Last year, they lost to Orlando in the conference finals, an exit that left James so shaken he skulked off the court without shaking hands.

James seemed like he couldn’t wait to slip off his Cavaliers jersey, pulling it off as soon as he reached the tunnel to the locker room. He casually flipped it to an attendant moments after he walked into the dressing room.

Brown said he wasn’t ready to think about the future yet.

“He’s a heck of a talent and a great guy,” he said. “But right now we just lost the series. I’m not thinking of that. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone in that locker room to think beyond tonight.”

Here’s Cleveland vs Boston Series Matchup Results:

GAME 1 – Sat, May 1, 2010 8:00 PM ET @Cleveland TNT
Cavaliers 101 – Celtics 93
GAME 2 – Mon, May 3, 2010 8:00 PM ET @Cleveland TNT
Cavaliers 86 – Celtics 104
GAME 3 – Fri, May 7, 2010 7:00 PM ET @Boston ESPN
Cavaliers 124 – Celtics 95
GAME 4 – Sun, May 9, 2010 3:30 PM ET @Boston ABC
Cavaliers 87 – Celtics 97
GAME 5 – Tue, May 11, 2010 8:00 PM ET @Cleveland TNT
Cavaliers 88 – Celtics 120
GAME 6 – Thu, May 13, 2010 8:00 PM ET @Boston ESPN
Cavaliers 85 – Celtics 94