In the first round of the playoffs, the fourth seeded Cavaliers faced the fifth-seeded
Indiana Pacers. A
year before, the
Cavaliers had swept the
Pacers in the first round. This time around, the Cavaliers won the series in seven games. The Cavaliers advanced to face the top-seeded
Toronto Raptors, the
same team that they defeated in the 2017 Eastern Conference semi-finals. Cleveland swept Toronto, leading to an Eastern Conference finals matchup against the second-seeded
Boston Celtics for the second consecutive year. After losing in the first two games of the series, the Cavaliers battled back to tie the series at 2–2. The Celtics won Game 5 and the Cavaliers won Game 6, setting up a pivotal Game 7 at the
TD Garden. Despite playing without
Kevin Love – who suffered a concussion during Game 6 that prevented him from playing in the final game of the series – the Cavaliers won Game 7, 87–79, to win the conference finals and advance to the
NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season. Additionally, James made the NBA Finals for the eighth straight season.
2018 NBA Finals For the fourth straight year, the Cavaliers played the
Golden State Warriors in the
NBA Finals. The Cavaliers and the Warriors became the first teams to make the finals for the fourth consecutive season since the
1984–85 Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors entered the series as heavy favorites.
Game 1 The fourth quarter of Game 1 ended in controversial fashion. With the Cavaliers up 104–102 at
Oracle Arena, Golden State small forward
Kevin Durant was called for a
charging foul when driving against LeBron James. When the referees reviewed the play to confirm that James' feet were outside of the restricted area, they opted to invoke a little-known rule and reverse the charge call into a
blocking foul. Durant made both free throws to equal the score at 104. After a James layup and an
and-one by Warriors point guard
Stephen Curry, the Cavaliers had the ball down 107–106 with 23.5 seconds remaining in regulation. If Green's foul had been noticed in real time, James – who shot 10-for-11 from the line in Game 1 – would have taken the free throws, rather than Hill. The Warriors easily won the game in overtime, 124–114, leading numerous commentators – including current and former players – to accuse Smith of having cost the Cavaliers the game, as well as having wasted James' performance of 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Smith later claimed that he knew the game was tied, an assertion belied by the visual evidence as well as the testimony of Tyronn Lue. After the game, James punched a blackboard with his right hand in an expression of his frustration with the team's level of play. The impact of the punch allegedly broke his hand. Playing through an eye injury that he suffered during Game 1, James posted 29 points, nine rebounds, and 13 assists. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled for most of the contest: each of the
Splash Brothers only scored 11 points, with Curry in particular shooting just 3-of-16 from the field.
Game 4 Golden State held a nine-point lead at halftime, 61–52. The Warriors – as they had throughout the season – built their lead further in the third quarter and entered the last period of play with an 86–65 advantage. LeBron James departed the game with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter, with small forward
Cedi Osman replacing him. James received a standing ovation from the crowd. Incidentally, the last team to suffer that fate was also the
Cavaliers, when they lost to the
San Antonio Spurs in four games in the
2007 NBA Finals. ==Roster==