James fires as Cavaliers lock up series

NEW YORK (Reuters) - LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an 88-77 home win over the Boston Celtics on Monday, tying up their Eastern Conference series at 2-2.

The Cavaliers held the Celtics to 12 points in the fourth quarter and James had 21 points and 13 assists, effectively clinching victory with a slam dunk 1:45 from time to put his team ahead by nine.

"I just wanted to be aggressive," James told reporters. "I hadn't had a play like that in the series. ... (It) put an exclamation point on the game. That was the play we needed as a team."

The series returns to Boston on Wednesday.

Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rajon Ray and Ray Allen also scored 15 points.

The loss was the fifth consecutive road defeat for Boston in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers' defense held the Celtics to their lowest shooting performance of the post-season, 38.6 per cent, while the offense did not commit a turnover in the final 18 minutes.

"They are one of the best defensive teams in the league," Boston's Paul Pierce said. "They force you to drive or take tough outside shots and then their big men collapse. We have to do a better job with the extra pass."

Cleveland, winner of two home games after losing twice in Boston, pulled away in the final quarter with a 17-8 run.

The Cavaliers led by only two points with nine minutes remaining before the burst in which Daniel Gibson had six points and James five.

"We took care of home court," James said. "That's what we needed to do."

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Ed Osmond)