CLEVELAND – Cavaliers coach Mike Brown doesn’t have to call plays for LeBron James. His superstar does that for himself.

After a fairly pedestrian first half, James dominated in the second as the Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics 104-93 Sunday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.

“He’s the type of player who is going to turn it up by himself,” Brown said. “He called his number a couple of times. … You knew sooner or later he was going to break loose.”

James had just six points in the first half, when he attempted four shots and two free throws. He had 24 in the second, when he was 7-of-17 from the field and 10-of-14 at the line.

“Being aggressive against that team is the ultimate (factor),” the 6-foot-8, 250-pound small forward said. “We know we can’t settle.”

James didn’t, doing most of his damage after being accidentally hit in the face and eye by Kevin Garnett with 10:02 to play in the third period.

“It’s been better,” the 25-year-old said of his eye. “I’ve got a bit of a headache right now.”

The Celtics (41-24) had a migraine after sending the Cavaliers (52-15) to the line a whopping 48 times – Cleveland made just 31 – and surrendering 17 offensive rebounds, a number of them coming off missed free throws.

The latter translated into a 27-10 Cavaliers edge in second-chance points.

Anderson Varejao, who alternately got under the skin of Garnett, Glen Davis and Rasheed Wallace, finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Six of his boards came on the offensive glass, as the Celtics found it nearly impossible to box him out on missed Cleveland free throw attempts, of which there were plenty.

“I thought one guy completely dominated this game and that was Varejao,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “Loose balls, activity, getting under our skin, I mean, he’s doing what he should be doing. That was very frustrating.”

Back after missing one game with stiffness in his knee, Antawn Jamison added 15 points and 12 rebounds on what was for him a fairly ugly day. The 33-year-old was 6-of-17 from the field, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointers, and 2-of-8 at the line, but he was right behind Varejao with four offensive boards.

James and Mo Williams (14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) added three offensive boards each for the Cavaliers, who were in attack mode most of the game.

“I thought we played the right way,” Brown said. “Usually when we play Boston, the most aggressive team is going to win.”

The Cavaliers were that team most of the afternoon, as Garnett (18 points, 7 rebounds) picked up three silly fouls and a technical.

Boston did get 20 points, six rebounds and five assists from Ray Allen, 18 points from Paul Pierce and 16 points, eight boards and six assists from point guard Rajon Rondo, but the aging Celtics found it difficult to match Cleveland’s intensity.

Boston was down just four points late in the third period, but missed its next 12 shots as Cleveland went on a game-deciding 13-0 run.

Nine of those misses came at the start of the fourth quarter, when James sat on the bench for the first 3:52. The Celtics didn’t score their first point until Garnett connected inside with seven minutes to go.

“We all know the fourth quarter is when we make our statement,” James said. “That’s when we turn up our aggressiveness.”

After a first half in which he “was doing a lot of setting up” for his teammates, James posted 13 points and three assists in the third period, when he attempted nine shots – or more than twice as many as he took in the entire first half.

He had 11 more points in the fourth as the Cavaliers beat the Celtics for the second straight time.

“I think we’re really close, but we can say that all we want,” Rivers said. “We’ve got to prove it at some point.”

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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