BOSTON: Memories and regrets — it will be a long summer full of them for the Cavaliers.

Their series finale with the Boston Celtics on Sunday is sure to become a classic, one they'll tell stories about for years to come. It was the sort of game that will trigger the mind when the words ''Game 7'' are uttered, but it will always be tinged with melancholy.

The Cavs, and especially LeBron James, put forth a mighty effort, but all it got them was extra respect at the gallows as their season ended in a 97-92 loss. It will be the Celtics moving on to the Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons.

It was a game that the Cavs never led — there was only a brief moment when they had a chance to take the lead. Yet the entire afternoon and evening at TD Banknorth Garden resembled a car chase in a big-budget movie, moving at high speed with an unsure ending.

Had the score been somehow reversed, it would've been another celebration of James' talents and timing, not unlike his still signature performance in the playoffs last year against the Pistons. But there will be no rematch in the conference finals, and James will just be the antagonist in history.

He scored 45 points, his most in a regulation playoff
game, with five rebounds and six assists. He had 13 points in the fourth quarter, trying with all his considerable talent to give the Cavs another come-from-behind win like they had done all season.

But he couldn't.

Paul Pierce, the other All-Star small forward in this series, had his moment in the postseason sun. It didn't eclipse James, but it did neutralize him, which is saying something on this afternoon. Pierce had 41 points and did it with James defending him for nearly the entire game.

The Cavs could not handle Pierce off high pick-and-rolls. He split their double teams or simply drove around their help to get open looks right from the start as he started drilling a series of midrange jumpers. Once he started making a few, his pedigree took over and he was pouring them in, including a couple in the second half with James in his face.

''Neither one of us wanted to let our teams lose,'' Pierce said. ''Just to be part of something like this and be on the winning side is a great feeling.''

It had everyone in Boston recalling the conference semifinal 20 years ago when Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins had a classic duel in Game 7, Bird scoring 34 points and Wilkins scoring 47. That, too, was a Celtics win. So this, too, will be another grand moment in Celtics history while becoming another sore spot in Cavs history.

''We were both trying to will our team to victory,'' James said. ''Just like Dominique Wilkins, I ended up on the short end. The Celtics won again.''

The Cavs fell behind by 12 points early in the first quarter and truly never overcame it. They were down 10 at the half and five going into the fourth quarter. With two minutes to play, they were down just a point. But they never could get the one play to put them over the top; the Celtics did.

When James stripped Pierce and raced to the other end for a dunk with 2:21 to play, cutting the lead to one, the Cavs were involved in five crucial plays and came out on the losing side in each one.

James had an open 3-pointer from the wing that would have given the Cavs the lead, but it rattled out. Moments later, Delonte West had a chance from the same spot, wide open again, and it just hit the rim.

Meanwhile, 38-year-old P.J. Brown twice got the Celtics extra possessions by securing offensive rebounds off air balls that led to points. Once, Ben Wallace had Kevin Garnett perfectly defended, and Brown swooped in for a layup. On another, Zydrunas Ilgauskas stepped out to deny Rajon Rondo on a short jumper, and Brown again caught the ball, despite being out of position had the ball hit off the rim.

''That can't happen,'' said Cavs coach Mike Brown, whose team gave up 18 second-chance points. ''It's going to be tough to win when you allow that.''

Then the final blow came in the final minute, when James couldn't convert a driving layup try with P.J. Brown all over him. The veteran Brown ended up with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

All of that will plague the Cavs as they look back at this one. They didn't get a performance like Brown gave Boston. In fact, the only other player to step up alongside James was West, who had 15 points and five assists.

No other Cavs player was in double figures in scoring. The starters besides James combined to shoot just 7-of-20. Defensively, the team was below the standard it set in the first six games, giving up the most points it had in any game in the series.

''We had a shot in this series but we just couldn't win here,'' said Ilgauskas, who had just eight points.

''We pushed them to the limit, but it wasn't enough.''