Cleveland’s LeBron James, left, is double-teamed by Boston’s Kevin Garnett, center, and Kendrick Perkins during first-half action last night.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers apparently don’t need LeBron James to play like a King in order to win playoff games.

The Cavaliers pumped new life into their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics last night as strong efforts up and down their lineup delivered a 108-84 win before a sellout crowd of 20,562 at Quicken Loans Arena. The win loosens Boston’s control of the series to 2-to-1 with Game Four set for tomorrow night.

While James continued to struggle with his shooting, most of his teammates did not. Thanks to big efforts from ex-Celtics Delonte West (7-of-11, 21 points) and Wally Szczerbiak (16), the Cavs jumped on the Celts early with a 27-8 start and never looked back. Cleveland led, 32-13, after the first quarter and 52-35 at the half. The Celts closed to within 12 points in the third quarter but still trailed by 16 heading into the fourth quarter and could never mount much of a comeback.

“Those guys accepted the challenge tonight,” said the Celtics’ Paul Pierce. “As much as they talk about LeBron, these other guys are just as important to their success. They really stepped up tonight.”

James shot the ball better than he did in two ugly showings in Boston but he was not the catalyst in this one. He did play his usual outstanding all-around game by finishing with 21 points and 7 assists but he shot 5-of-16 from the floor including 2-of-11 on twos and 3-of-5 in making his first 3-point shots of the series after 10 misses.

But it was the early play of the rest of the Cavaliers that spelled doom for the Celtics. Besides Szczerbiak and West, the Cavs received good play from Zydrusnas Ilgauskas (12 points, 8 rebounds), Joe Smith (17) and Ben Wallace who played with an inner-ear infection and contributed nine points and nine rebounds.

“I thought we did a good job on LeBron and not letting him get a huge game. That’s what the focus has been,” said Pierce, “but at the same time they have four other guys out there that can play and we have to get to them.”

James, who appeared at the post-game news conference with his young son, said he was thrilled with the much-improved offense.

“You couldn’t ask any more out of this team tonight in the first quarter. It was unbelievable,” said James. “When we make shots and don’t turn the ball over, we’re going to be good. When we assist like we did tonight [29 assists, 37 field goals], we’re tough to beat.”

Boston played better defense in the second half but the Cavs answered every time and protected their double-digit lead in style. After struggling badly in the two losses in Boston, the Cavaliers’ offense awoke at home. The Cavs shot 33 percent from the field and 19 percent on 3-pointers on the road but hit a sparkling 54 percent last night.

The Celtics have now lost four straight playoff games on the road and the combination of slack defense and shaky offensive execution has been the prescription every time. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Pierce added 14 points. Starting guards Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo combined to shoot 7-of-22 from the field.

“We took our bumps tonight. I hope the guys are mad with the way we played because I’m totally upset with the way we played, especially with a great opportunity in front of us,” said Pierce.

The C’s appeared a step slow defensively and off the boards early on and the Cavs took advantage with an early blitzkrieg. Boston scored the game’s opening two buckets but Cleveland answered with a 14-0 punch with its five starters hitting the scoring column. A Garnett jumper made it 14-6 but the Cavs put together a 13-2 spurt that ended with James swishing his first 3-pointer of the series.

During the 27-8 start, the Cavs shot 65 percent (11-of-17) and scored off the fast break, by getting the ball inside and hitting threes. The Cavs led, 32-13, at the end of the nightmare quarter as the Celtics made only 6-of-19 (31 percent) shots.

“We have to start the game off better. You can’t spot a team 20 points,” said Garnett. “We have to play with the same urgency that we play with at home. We feel like we can play better and we will.”

kmcnamar@projo.com