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James, Cavs look to survive elimination in Game Six

May 16, 2008 - 1:29 PM Boston at Cleveland 8:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference semifinals Celtics lead, 3-2

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - The Boston Celtics haven't had success on the road in the postseason, and LeBron James would like to keep it that way.

James will try to make sure the Cleveland Cavaliers don't get eliminated from the playoffs on Friday when they meet the top-seeded Celtics in Game Six of the Eastern Conference semifinals series.

James poured in 23 of his 35 points in the opening half but the Cavs blew 14-point lead after the break to fall 96-89 to Boston in Game Five on Wednesday.

Despite the loss, and the prospect of having to come back to Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, James admitted to having no worries.

"A LeBron James team is never desperate," the 6-8 All-Star said.

Kevin Garnett scored 26 points and Rajon Rondo added 20 and 13 assists for the Celtics, who are looking for their first road win of the postseason.

"This momentum, and what we did here (Wednesday)," Garnett said, "we've got to figure a way to carry this on the road."

"We've got some work cut out for us as we go out here on this road and try to close this out, which is the most important thing for us right now," Celtics guard Paul Pierce said.

Pierce finally had his breakout game of the series, scoring 29 points on 8-of-19 shooting. It was his best performance of the postseason.

"Starting (Thursday), we gotta work on somehow, some way, closing out this series," Pierce said.

If the Cavaliers are going to force a pivotal Game Seven back in "Beantown" they have to do without the services of backup guard Daniel Gibson, who suffered separated his left shoulder.

"We're not looking for a spectacular game from anybody," James said. "We just want to continue to do what we've been doing in the two wins we've had at home guys stepped up. We're not looking for a guy to go out and score 30 points or anything like that."

With Gibson being sidelined due to injury, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown could turn to Sasha Pavlovic, who hasn't seen much playing time the entire playoffs.

If the Cavs are hoping to return to the NBA Finals, they have to first take care of business here.

"You can't panic," Cleveland guard Delonte West said. "This is when it gets fun. This is when you see what your team is made of."