East Conf. Finals Game 5 - Cleveland Cavaliers 83-96 Boston Celtics: 5 Talking Points

#1 LeBron James got winded and could not take over late

LeBron looked tired in the second half

With the rest of the Cavaliers' lineup bricking shots left, right and center all game long, it was up to the best player on the planet to supercharge their offense and reduce the deficit that they faced at halftime. By that time, LeBron James was looking largely like his usual self, though he did have trouble with his jump shot and was unable to get it going by that time.

He had 16 points entering the third quarter, but he seemed tired by the end of the first half. Instead of taking over the game completely, as we've seen him do on countless occasions through his career, LeBron kept passing on the scoring responsibility to the rest of his teammates, who were unable to get it done.

His fatigue showed in an uncharacteristic manner that he missed a couple of layups that he normally would make with his eyes closed. James finished the game with 26 points - meaning that he scored only 10 points in the second half, and got outscored by Jayson Tatum who had 12 points in the same timeframe.

Several times this postseason, we've seen how his teammates wilt under the pressure of road games. LeBron will need to put them on his back again if he wishes to make his 8th successive NBA Finals series.