LeBron leads Cavs to another NBA Final

REUTERS :  LeBron James had 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists to send the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals after an 87-79 win against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night. James has reached the NBA Finals in eight straight seasons, including four in a row with Cleveland. Only Bill Russell (10), Tom Heinsohn (nine) and Sam Jones (nine) have made more consecutive appearances in NBA history. The Cavaliers will play the winner of Monday’s Game 7 of the West finals between Houston and Golden State. Cleveland has faced the Warriors in the last three NBA Finals, winning in 2016 and losing in 2015 and 2017.   James, who entered with an NBA-record Game 7 average of 34.9 points, improved to 6-2 lifetime in Game 7s. Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue rated James’ performance Sunday alongside that in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals as the forward’s two best. Jayson Tatum scored 24 points to lead the Celtics, who lost at home for the first time this postseason in 11 games. Al Horford added 17 points and Marcus Morris had a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards.