King Me: Boston Celtics Stifle LeBron James' Cavaliers in Game Five Drubbing

In one of the most shocking defeats in recent memory, the Boston Celtics went into Cleveland and handed them their worst playoff loss in franchise history.  When the buzzer sounded in the fourth quarter the Celtics had won by 32 points.

This game was very much back and forth in the first half.  The Celtics went on a 16-0 run in the first half to go up by as many as nine. The Cavs hung tough to only trail by six going into halftime.

The pre-game Rondo-LeBron hype didn't live up to the expectations that fans were prepared to see.  For Celtics fans that turned out just fine.  At the end of two quarters Rondo didn't have a point and LeBron was held without a field goal in the first half. His first made shot was a dunk midway through the third quarter.

King James was simply not himself last night.  In the biggest game of the season, and maybe even his career, he played awful.  It was his second-worst shooting performance in NBA Playoff history, as he went 3-14 from the field and was held to 15 points.

For a player that dominated the Celtics in the regular season by scoring over 30 points per game, there is something extremely different in this series.  There's talk that the elbow injury is bothering his jump shot.  LeBron continues to adamantly deny that anything is wrong with him, he has taken full responsibility in each loss.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to go out be great and the best player on the court," said James, who removed the protective sleeve from his injured right elbow in the third quarter. "When I'm not, I feel bad for myself because I'm not going out there and doing the things I know I can do."

Boston had a combined team effort that helped them extend their lead in the second half.  They never let Cleveland back in the game and took the crowd out of it.  Fans were booing in the third quarter, and the place was nearly empty by the time the game was over.

There were even fans that had tears in their eyes because even they realize LeBron James may have played his last home game in a Cavaliers uniform.

Rondo scored 16 points all in the second half.  Kevin Garnett added 18 points and Paul Pierce came up huge finding his shot and scoring 21 points. The real winner of Game Five was Ray Allen who scored a team-high 25 points on 6-9 shooting from the three-point line.

When Boston plays as a team they are scary.  Now that they are healthy and have put the pieces of the puzzles together Boston is returning to its 2008 form once again.

Another obstacle remains as this series returns to Boston on Thursday night.  The Celtics have to put the peddle to the metal and not let up.  This Celtics team cannot afford a letdown that would set up a pivotal Game Seven.

"We cannot come back here," Garnett said. "We have to think this is our Game Seven coming up and we cannot afford to have the best team in the league have a Game Seven on their floor. Just not possible."

Boston realizes that winning Game Five on the road sets up exactly what they want.  A chance to eliminate the Cleveland Cavaliers at home for the second time in three years.

Now it's time for the Celtics to go out and seal the deal.  In order to dethrone the King, Boston will have to bring the pressure and intensity that it takes to defeat this team.  They can't afford to lose in Boston tomorrow night.

Going back to Cleveland would just play right into the hand of King James.  It's time for the Celtics to win and advance.