Tom Curran • E-mail

BOSTON - King James? Most nights.

But Tuesday night at Boston Garden, LeBron James was the Cleveland Cavaliers' King of Pain.

Turning in the sorriest offensive performance of his brief and brilliant career, James was 2-for-18 from the floor (0-for-6 from beyond the arc) and equaled his career high of 10 turnovers in a 76-72 series-opening loss in this Eastern Conference semifinal.

James wasn’t laying bricks by himself in this one. Sixty-six percent of the Celtics' Big Three — Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — combined to go 2-for-18 themselves with ... drum roll, please ... 10 turnovers. But when it’s The Big Three against The Chosen One, the odds are against Cleveland winning if James is in the tank. And that’s where he was Tuesday.

“The one thing he tried to do (was attack) the rim, but he didn’t get the calls, especially down the stretch,” lamented Cavs coach Mike Brown. “Guys have nights like that, but it is unusual to see him have a night like that from the field. He very seldom has a game like this, but he will bounce back and play a terrific game in Game 2.

“He had a tough night, and he is entitled to it. He is always terrific, terrific, and terrific.”

James had a chance to tie the game in the final 20 seconds, but — as happened to him time and again — his slash to the hoop went unrewarded as his layup squirted off the rim.

Given Boston’s excellence at home this season, the time was ripe for Cleveland to steal one in the Garden. How often are Pierce and Allen going to go stone cold on the same night (Allen was scoreless for the first time in 11 years and for the first time ever in a playoff game)? That’s the “what if” Cleveland will have to mull as it waits for Game 2 on Thursday night.

And James’ horrific night also becomes Cleveland’s worry.

Boston was the best defensive team in the league this season. The Celtics got validation Tuesday night that they can sag back into the paint defensively and make James either A) weave through traffic; B) shoot pull-ups or C) kick it out. They also found they can commit an embarrassing 23 turnovers and still survive.

“Me and Ray Allen feel like we played him to a standstill,” Pierce joked after the game. “You just try and run (James) into the help. I mean 1-on-1 he is tough, just driving to the hole with his strength, the way he can knock down shots. We just tried to direct him toward where the help is, where Kevin, where (Kendrick Perkins) is, and make his finishes tough at the rim and then we just try and keep him out of the fast break, limit easy opportunities.

"That’s what our defense is, that’s what we tried to do last series with Joe Johnson and definitely you got to do it with LeBron. He is not going to come out and play and go 2-for-18 every game, but, hey, we are going to go out there and do our best to try and make him.”

James did finish the night with 12 points (two in the second half) and came within a rebound and an assist of a triple-double.

“Not All-Star numbers right there,” James said during brief postgame comments in the Cavs locker room.

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