Boston 79, Miami 98 - LeBron James Takes Over and Forces Game 7

For one night at least, one man was greater than five. LeBron James took it to another level scoring 45 points on 19-of-26 shooting as Miami won game six 98-79. The win evened the series at three games a piece and forces a decisive game seven Saturday night in Miami.

Boston got down big early, trailing by 10 after the first quarter and never was able to establish themselves after that.

It was largely James and no one else in the first half for Miami. At one point the Heat star had connected on 10-of-11 shots and scored 30 points in the first 24 minutes. The Celtics were never able to finish a quarter strong. They had chances to go on mini-runs to close out periods and steal momentum but weren't able to capitalize.

The lead bounced around between eight and 15 points for the majority of the second and third quarters. Every time the Celtics went on a run, James was there to halt it with big shot after big shot. They blew numerous opportunities to cut the deficit to single digits before the fourth. They went into the final break trailing 74-61.

Almost immediately at the open of the fourth the lead was extended to 18 on a Shane Battier corner three. It broke 20 with eight minutes left and shortly thereafter Doc Rivers subbed out his stars for good. They will be better rested now for Saturday night's showdown.

When I say it was literally all LeBron James, I mean it. Only Dwyane Wade joined him in double figures, but it took him 17 shots to score 17 points. James added 15 rebounds and five assists to his impressive stat line.

For Boston, Paul Pierce was never able to get going. Early foul trouble caused largely by James' performance threw Pierce off his game and he finished 4-of-18 for just nine points. Rajon Rondo was the only Celtic worth mentioning, but even he turned the ball over seven times. Rondo finished with 21 points and 12 assists but was no match for the LBJ onslaught.

Credit to the TD Garden faithful who stuck around to the very end and gave a "Lets Go Celtics" chant throughout the final two minutes of game time. They truly would not let up.

Boston will be forced to regroup and once again face an elimination game seven. They succeeded against Philadelphia in the same situation last round, but that was at home. The Celtics backs are once again up against the wall, but that seems to be the way that they like it.