CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James had every reason to not trust his teammates in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

They really didn't do much to earn it. In the first quarter, as the rest of the supporting cast looked timid and indecisive in a hostile environment, James was forced to score 12 of Cleveland's first 18 points.

It looked like it was going to have to be one of those nights.

For the Cavaliers to survive against the plucky Celtics, LeBron was going to have to go for how many? 40 points? 50? 60?

He certainly looked capable. Despite the Celtics trying a variety of defensive coverages and throwing a few different bodies in his path, they could only watch as he stabilized Cleveland's shaky offense early. His outside jumper was dropping and he was plowing his way to the basket -- scoring buckets inside the paint and earning repeated trips to the free throw line.

But that's not who James is. And that's not how the Cavs have gotten to this point.

Yes, James' fingerprints are all over this trip back to the NBA Finals. He was exquisite in another Game 7. He's been so good, so dominant in the playoffs that there aren't any superlatives left to summarize his greatness.

But this is a team sport. James learned that growing up. Even after watching his teammates brick shots early, going just 2-of-9 from the field in the first quarter, James' faith in the others, as irrational as it may have have seemed to outsiders, never wavered.

It took some time. It looked bleak. Then it was finally rewarded.

Late in the second quarter, as the Cavaliers were making their surge, James fired a pass to Jeff Green for a basket. The very next possession, James drove right of the lane, drew a second defender and found JR Smith for a 3-pointer in the opposite corner -- his first on the road in this series.

It was in that moment when poor body language and slumped shoulders turned into a gigantic exhale. From James. From Smith. From Tyronn Lue. From Cavs fans all across the world.

James, without any rest in the first half, needed someone to lift the offensive burden, to help close the gap going into halftime. His teammates were there for him.

The non-LeBrons continued that in the final two quarters, scoring 30 of the team's 48 second-half points. There was Smith's 3-point answer following a Marcus Morris triple in the fourth quarter and Kyle Korver sprinting off a screen to bury one of his patented 3-pointers at the top of the arc and break a tie game in the fourth quarter. There was the biggest shot of Green's life, an answer triple after Boston briefly reclaimed the lead and the crowd became reenergized at the six-minute mark, and Tristan Thompson's uncontested dunk that helped punctuate a second-half comeback.

In all but one of those possessions, James made the pass to set up those buckets. In each case, he initiated the offense.

Playing all 48 minutes of Game 7, James created 21 field goal attempts off his passes, 13 of which were classified as "open." He finished with nine assists.

That's been part of the Cavs' postseason formula, giving James just enough of a scoring boost. On Sunday, four players reached double figures, improving their record to 10-1 in the playoffs when that's been the case.

Green, who started in place of All-Star Kevin Love, led the supporting cast, scoring 19 points on 7-of-14 from the field to go with eight rebounds, one assist and a block. With him on the floor, the Cavs outscored the Celtics by seven points.

"You want to be there for him," Green said of James. "You want to be in the trenches, in the battle, helping him achieve the ultimate goal. You're right with him. For me, it's a no-brainer to go out there and give it all I have. No matter how many minutes I play, I'm going to go out there and just play hard and just be there for him, be there for all my teammates, and do whatever it takes to win games. That's what I've been doing, and I'm going to continue to do that."

Smith bounced back from three horrible road games, pouring in 12 points on 3-of-8 from the field and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc in 42 minutes.

Thompson added 10 points, making all four of his shot attempts.

James didn't need one of those scoring explosions. Turns out, 35 was enough.

"As much as I was passing in the first half and my guys wasn't knocking them down I believed in the second half they would," he said on the court after the 87-79 win. "I believed that the Celtics would try to put as many bodies on me, in front of me and invite the pass to my guys and dare my guys to shoot and make. I just kept the faith in them and they did that."

On a night when James had his eighth straight Finals trip hanging inside the TD Garden, he stayed true to himself and what he learned so many years ago.

James did it his way -- trusting his teammates till the very end.