LeBron James is the last person to ask about a regular-season game.

He is, however, still the first person you should ask to win one.

James walked into TD Northbank Garden on Wednesday night with the Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back, facing the presumptive challenger Boston Celtics, with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on the line. Tristan Thompson, the starting center and rim protector for the Cavaliers, was out with a hand injury. The Cavs have played sloppy ball for an extended period time of time, and only a week ago there was talk of hitting the panic button. 

This had schedule loss written all over it. 

Cavaliers 114, Celtics 91.

LeBron James, 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, a plus-32 in 38 minutes.

They don’t call him King for nothin’.

It’s presumptive to say that the Cavaliers “found the switch.” They could very well turn around and drop the next game to the Hawks, or return to looking lost defensively. This could have just been a random good game where the Cavs found their footing while the Celtics face-planted. But it sure didn’t feel that way. It felt like big brother letting little brother know how much he comes up short. Like the biggest animal in the yard knocking the pesky one around. It felt like a statement game, despite James specifically saying it wasn’t afterward:

James, however, said that his team had nothing to say to anyone except themselves after the Cavaliers vaulted themselves into a great position to earn the No. 1 seed, with a one-game lead and the tiebreaker over Boston.

“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “No statement. We don’t need to have statements for anyone but ourselves, that we need to continue to get better. We did that.”

via LeBron James: Cleveland Cavaliers’ blowout win over Boston Celtics not a statement game | masslive.com. 

That’s the thing. James was right the first time. He is the last person to ask about a regular-season game. He has faced being woefully underprepared in 2007 vs. the Spurs, shocked to his core by the Magic in 2009, faced his worst basketball demons in 2010 vs. the Celtics, crumbled vs. immense pressure and negativity (and more than anything an awesome Mavericks team) in 2011, faced down his demons in 2012 in this same TD Garden (which at this point should have his name on the lease), and has pulled off the greatest comebacks in Finals history, twice, in 2013 and 2016.

This was merely another night at the office for him. That’s the most cruel part. Boston found out that all their regular-season success built on Isaiah Thomas’ plucky fireworks and solid role players were not a recipe to hang when the champions brought their A-game. The Cavaliers secured the tiebreaker and a one-game lead on Boston with four to go. Boston can still catch, but it’s going to take a whole lot of apathy from Cleveland to allow the Celtics to reach the 1-seed.

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LeBron James might as well own this floor. USATSI

The playoffs are a different animal, and surely, the Celtics can play a better game than they did Wednesday night. However, it wasn’t merely the dominance from James, or the 13 offensive rebounds, or the fact that the Celtics’ bench basically vomited on itself, or that Boston had a 118.1 defensive rating when superstar Isaiah Thomas was on the floor. It was how focused Cleveland was. Locked in. Ready to go. It caught Boston back on their heels, and when James went off for 15 points during a 22-4 run in the second quarter ... that was it.

Equally frightening was how much better Cleveland could have played. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 12-of-33 shooting. Clevleand shot 31 percent from deep. James had only six assists. They won by 23 anyway.

Boston has played well offensively vs. the Cavs this season, with a 111.5 offensive rating when on the court together vs. LeBron this season. But Wednesday, the Cavs’ defense tightened, and the Celtics just couldn’t find anything. Thomas got his numbers, 26 points and six assists, but shot only 9 for 19 and the Celtics simply couldn’t defend when he was on the court.

First, watch this clip and notice LeBron James, early in the game, tell Kyrie Irving to clear out to the left corner, taking away wing help from Avery Bradley. Jae Crowder has to try and jump the screen to contain James, who then goes the other way, and Thomas is helpless.

Now read this quote: 

James was deliberate and vicious, exploiting the Celtics weaknesses. It was like watching someone walk into an office and tear apart the operational weaknesses in five minutes before breezing out at noon for lunch and a round of golf. LeBron James isn’t sweating the Celtics. That much is clear, even if you still believe Boston is Cleveland’s biggest postseason challenge.

Boston hasn’t been here, it’s important to remember. They were upstarts two years ago, and a mid-tier team last year. They are learning to be a contender, and that takes time. But it’s clear that while they figure out what pieces move where, James is already moving towards checkmate.

There’s plenty of time for Boston to find itself. If the Cavaliers had lost, no one would be assuming Cleveland was doomed to lose to Boston in May. But for all the crisis surrounding the Cavaliers for weeks, Wednesday was the moment when LeBron James once again rose to the moment in that building, with pressure rising, and left nothing but silence in his wake as he departed for the next challenge, with bigger concerns on his mind.

James and the Cavs didn’t need to win this game.

But they did anyway.