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Celtics, Cavaliers battle for Eastern Conference finals berth

May 18, 2008 - 2:36 PM Cleveland at Boston 3:30 pm EDT Eastern Conference semifinals Series tied, 3-3

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Home court has defined the 2008 NBA Playoffs more than any other season in recent memory.

The Boston Celtics need that trend to hold for one more game to arrive at a destination many thought was all but guaranteed.

The Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers fight for their playoff lives in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday.

Boston, which seemed like a lock to coast into the Eastern Conference finals by virtue of its NBA-best 66-16 record, is a perfect 7-0 at home in this postseason.

That success has contributed to an amazing league-wide home court dominance - especially during the conference semifinals - as the home team is 21-2 so far in this round.

However, it is the Celtics' inability to win a single game on the road that has caused them to land in their second Game Seven in as many series.

Boston coach Doc Rivers believes he knows why the Cavaliers are making this a highly competitive, defensive-oriented series.

"Before the series, we said the two things we can't give up are: One, obviously, offensive rebounds; and two, we can't allow them to live on the foul line," Rivers said. "And we did both."

Game Six was a prime example of that, as Cleveland outrebounded Boston on the offensive glass, 16-7, and went to the foul line twice as much as did the Celtics (25-13) en route to a 74-69 victory.

If Boston is to move on to meet the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, it likely will need to maintain the play it established during Game Five - the team's last home game.

The Celtics eclipsed the 90-point mark for the only time this series, primarily due to their series-best 48 percent (37-for-77) shooting performance.

On the other hand, the Cavs are attempting to become the 14th team to overcome an 0-2 deficit. And to do so, they will also have to tackle history, because the Celtics are 15-3 all-time at home in Game Sevens.

But LeBron James figures to have a large say, as always, on which team advances.

After averaging a shade under 19.0 points through the series' first four games, the 23-year-old superstar has averaged 34.0 over the last two contests - including 32 points in Friday's win.