Celtics' forward Marcus Morris backs up bold talk on stopping LeBron James in Game 1

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Celtics jump on LeBron, Cavs early for Game 1 rout SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down Boston's dominant showing in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals and what Cleveland must do to bounce back in Game 2.

BOSTON — Boston forward Marcus Morris not only wanted the challenge of guarding Cleveland superstar LeBron James, he also said just one player could defend James better than him.

Bold statement.

Morris backed it up.

Starting for the first time in the playoffs for the Celtics, Morris – with help from his teammates – held James to 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting, limiting James to fewer than 22 points for the first time in this season’s playoffs. James also had seven of his team’s nine turnovers.

Morris, who also had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first career playoff double-double, was a significant reason why the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 108-83 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

“It's a team effort, man,” Morris said. “It's not just me. Everybody played their part in guarding him. He's obviously the best player in the game, and you need multiple guys and a team to guard him an entire game. I just think we did a great job of that.”

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That’s a more humble version of the Morris who on Saturday said, “Personally, I’m probably the best guy defending him in the league outside of Kawhi (Leonard).”

Morris’ words didn’t bother Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

“I don't pay attention to any of that stuff,” Stevens said. “I just pay attention to what happens on the court.”

It’s usually not a great idea to “poke the bear.” James has a history of taking another player’s bravado and using it as motivation to have a great game.

But it worked for Morris. He forced James, who entered the series averaging 34.3 points through two rounds, into a rare, sub-par playoff performance. In the 24 plays in which Morris guarded James, James scored just five points on 2-for-6 shooting with two assists and one turnover.

Morris collected his second foul just two minutes, 42 seconds into the game, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens, as his philosophy, left Morris in the game.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time I lean on the side of not taking them out,” Stevens said. “I remember as a player — which I wasn't very good — the rhythm it breaks if you take a guy out in the first three minutes of a game. If he fouls out in the first quarter, then somebody else has to play. That's the way it goes.”

LeBron shows off uncanny memory of Game 1 loss LeBron James recalled in near-perfect detail the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, when the Celtics put the Cavaliers away for good in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

James recognized the effort from Morris and the Celtics.

“I thought they had great gameplan Game 1,” James said. “He was the start of it. He was my matchup, and I think they did a great job of communicating throughout the whole game, knowing where I was and knowing where our teammates were.

“Brad and the coaching staff did a great job in Game 1. You commend that. We have an opportunity to look at a lot of film (Monday) and see ways they were making us uncomfortable, making myself off balance and not have a rhythm all game. So, we'll be much better in Game 2.”

James wasn’t happy with the loss, but he wasn't worried either. He’s been in this position before, most recently in the first round when the Pacers won Game 1 98-80. He was down 2-1 in that series, too, and was down 3-1 against Golden State in the 2016 Finals and 3-2 against San Antonio in the 2013 Finals. His teams won those series.

“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” James said. “I didn't go to college, so it's not March Madness. You get better throughout the series. You see ways you can get better throughout the series. But I've been down 0-1, I've been down 0- 2. I've been down before in the postseason.

“But for me, there's never no level of concern no matter how bad I played tonight with seven turnovers, how inefficient I was shooting the ball. I'm just as confident going into a series whether it's a 0-0 series or I'm down 0-1. So, we have another opportunity to be better as a ball club coming in Tuesday night, and we'll see what happens.”

No matter what happens the rest of the series, Morris always will have Game 1.

He said he embraced the challenge “because I’m a competitor. He’s the best player, you know? I’m going to be able to tell my kids this one day. It’s exciting. I love the challenge, but like I said, man, it’s a team effort.”

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