LeBron’s second-half show seals win over Boston

CLEVELAND, Ohio, (Reuters) – LeBron James found  his scoring touch in the second half to grab 24 of his  game-high 30 points and lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a  104-93 victory over Eastern Conference rivals Boston on Sunday. In his second game back from an ankle injury, James shook off a scoreless second quarter and also added eight rebounds  and seven assists.

“I was doing a lot of setting up (team mates) in the first  half,” James told reporters. “I got my guys good looks and  opportunities at the basket. But I had to be a little more  assertive individually in the second half and attack some of  the things I saw, but didn’t attack, in the first half.”

The Cavaliers pulled away in the third with a 12-4 run to  end the quarter. They led by as many as 17 in the fourth.

Ray Allen scored 20 points while Paul Pierce and Kevin  Garnett both added 18 for the Celtics (41-24), who lost to  Cleveland for the second successive time.

The NBA-leading Cavs (52-15) routed Boston 108-88 on Feb.  25 in a game that saw center Shaquille O’Neal suffer a thumb  injury. O’Neal is still sidelined, but trade acquisition Antawn  Jamison returned after missing a game with a knee injury and  scored 15.

Cleveland also got a boost from Anderson Varejao, who  grabbed 10 rebounds and had 13 of his 17 points in the second  quarter.

“I wouldn’t say he gets under people’s skin, but he does  play with a lot of energy,” Garnett said of Varejao. “He knows his place on their team and he doesn’t come out  of his role. He’s effective and he’s aggressive. If you want to  beat Cleveland, you definitely have to take care of Anderson.”