BOSTON — James Posey knew he was going to see an awful lot of Lebron James over the next two weeks but he got more than he bargained for last night.

Just a few minutes into Game One of the Celtics-Cavaliers series, Paul Pierce picked up two quick fouls. That brought Posey into the game and into James’ gym shorts. Whenever James had the ball at the top of the key, waiting to make his move, Posey stood in his defensive stance a few inches away.

The shadow technique worked wonders. James could not have played worse. After torching the Washington Wizards for 29.8 points a game in a six-game series win, James came up empty against the Celtics. He managed a driving layup for the Cavaliers’ first points and another powerful drive in the fourth quarter. In between were 16 misses. His 2 for 18 performance was further hurt by 10 turnovers. The NBA’s leading regular season scorer did have nine assists and nine rebounds.

“The team did a good job of knowing where (James) was,” Posey said. “He took tough shots all night. I just knew I had to be ready for the challenge.”

Posey was more than ready. He used his long, quick body to frustrate James off the dribble and fly at him when James went up for jumpers. Pierce saw an awful lot of James during his 29 minutes as well.

“We just tried to direct him to where the help was, where Kevin (Garnett) and Perk (Kendrick Perkins) are, to make his finishes tough at the rim,” Pierce said. “he is not going to come out and play and go two for 18 every game but we’re going to go out there and do our best to try and make him.”

James had little to say after the game but the Cavaliers know not to worry.

“He had a tough night and he is entitled to it,” coach Mike Brown said. “My last press conference I said he is always terrific, terrific, terrific. He tried to attack, which is good. Knowing him he will definitely bounce back in Game Two.”

Coming up empty

Ray Allen was limited to four shots and did not score a single point. That snapped a streak of 852 games in his career where Allen has put some points on the board.

Allen said he could deal with the goose egg because the Celtics won the game. He was also happy other players, like Sam Cassell, stood up in his place.

“Sam makes big shots, James (Posey) makes big shots,” said Allen. “If I didn’t shoot out there it’s because someone else is open. That’s what we’re looking for. Sam has taken big shots in his career. He has two championships in his career taking big shots.”

Garnett third for MVP

Kobe Bryant (82 first place votes) became the fourth Los Angeles Laker to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in voting announced yesterday. Kevin Garnett received 15 first place votes and finished third. New Orleans guard Chris Paul (28 first place votes) was second and James finished fourth with one first place vote. The Celtics’ Paul Pierce received one fifth place vote.

James, who has yet to win an MVP, said he agreed with the choice. “I’ve always stayed that Kobe Bryant is the best player in this league,” he said. “He’s been the best player for the last five or six, seven years. It’s good that he won it. He’s part of the reason why they finished number one in the West.”

Cause for concern

Pierce has enjoyed up-and-down success against the Cavaliers over the years. No doubt because he matches up with James for long stretches of games, Pierce certainly has to be concerned with his defense even more than his offense. Last night he picked up two early fouls and scored only two points in the first half and four for the game.

Pierce averaged 13.5 points on 37 percent shooting in four games against the Cavs this season. However, he once erupted against James and the Cavs when he poured in a career-high 50 points in February of 2006.

kmcnamar@projo.com