Cleveland raced downcourt and James hoisted a 3-pointer that missed with 4.4 seconds to go. The Cavaliers got the rebound and James waved for the ball from the same spot he had just missed from.

But Eddie House intercepted the pass and, as the final seconds ticked off, James turned and walked toward his bench, his chances of reaching the East finals dashed on the court where the Cavaliers were 0-6 this season.

“Boston did their work during the regular season to put themselves in this position” to play Game 7 at home,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

The key Sunday, he said, was Boston’s 10 offensive rebounds that turned into 18 points. Cleveland has just seven second-chance points.

“That was similar to what we had in the last game,” Brown said. “You play on the road, if you turn the ball over, which we did a little tonight, and give up second chance points, it is going to be tough to win.”

Still, the Celtics were pushed to the limit for the second straight series. They did dominate Atlanta in Game 7, winning 99-65, but had a much tougher time eliminating Cleveland.

But now they’re unbeaten in the 29 series in which they’ve led 3-2.

“Today it was basically get the ball to Paul Pierce and get the hell out of the way,” Kevin Garnett said.

Garnett added 13 points and P.J. Brown came off Boston’s bench to score 10 and grab key rebounds.

“It’s emotional,” Garnett said. “We will enjoy this, but as we advance it does get a little more difficult.”

Delonte West was the only other Cleveland scorer in double figures with 15.

Special feature Luck of the Irish How the Celtics went from worst to first in one year

“We fight hard in every game, come out and leave it out on the floor,” West said. “We expected this type of effort out of ourselves, competing until there’s no zeros on the clock. It just hurts that we just go home now. That’s all.”

The Celtics led 50-40 at halftime, but the Cavaliers cut that to 52-49. It was 61-58 before Boston stretched its margin to 67-58 by scoring the next six points.

But Cleveland kept coming back and trailed by just 73-68 going into the fourth quarter.

The Celtics got a scare when Pierce was fouled by Pavlovic on a drive to the basket and fell on a video cameraman under Boston’s basket with 23 seconds left in the first half. Pierce got up slowly and, after a 20-second timeout, made two free throws.

He stayed in the game for all but the last 4.2 seconds of the half, then left for treatment of a bruised left thigh but played most of the second half.

With smoke from pregame pyrotechnics still rising toward the rafters where Boston’s 16 championship banners hang, the Celtics got off to a strong start. They rolled to a 16-4 lead — with Pierce scoring nine — but the Cavaliers closed it to 29-23 with 7:20 left in the second quarter.

That’s when James left the game for the first time, replaced by Pavlovic, and the Celtics got the next five points before James returned less than 1½ minutes later.

“I have always been a winner, and I am a winner,” he said. “You are just disappointed that the season is over.

Notes:Tom Brady, wearing a black Giants hat with the orange letters “SF” on front, was among a contingent of Patriots at the game. Others were Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney. ... Only two Cleveland starters scored in the first half — James with 23 points and West with 4. ... Boston College basketball player Ayla Brown, a former contestant on “American Idol,” sang the national anthem. ... Red Sox owner John Henry and president Larry Lucchino sat next to Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck in the front row.

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