This game was fit for a King, but Cavaliers' James on losing end

In the pantheon of great performances in losing efforts against the Celtics, LeBron's Sunday Tour De Force was worthy of anything submitted by Bob Pettit, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, or Michael Jordan. And if you're a local hoop fan over the age of 30, it was impossible to watch Paul Pierce (41 points) and LeBron duel without remembering Larry Bird vs. Dominique Wilkins, circa 1988.

"These fans finally have an opportunity to forget a little bit about what Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins did, and remember what Paul and LeBron did," said James, who was 3 years old when Larry and 'Nique matched buckets in a Game 7 in the Old Garden.

"It was very exciting to be a part of it, especially in this building," LeBron added after the 97-92 loss. "Like I said, Game 7 in the Garden, it gets no better than this. As a fan of basketball, I know so much about the history . . . this will go down in history."

Bingo. And we don't mean Bingo Smith (Look it up, young 'uns).

"That's Classic right there," said Kevin Garnett. "I look forward to seeing it on [ESPN] Classic in a couple of days."

For two weeks Boston basketball fans worried about the Celtics putting themselves in position to let James win the series by himself. Those fears were realized with a couple of minutes left in yesterday's game when the King (if he travels in a road game against the Grizzlies, do they say he's walkin' in Memphis?) picked Pierce's pocket and went the length of the floor for a tomahawk stuff. The flush cut Boston's game-long lead to 1 point (89-88) with 2:20 left. It was Game 7, it was close, and LeBron was having his way.

Fortunately the Celtics had secret weapon, P.J. Brown, in reserve, and Gramps won the game with a big rebound, a clutch jumper, and a baseline stop of LeBron in the final minute.