Cavaliers improve to 39-1 at home with rout of Celtics

CLEVELAND — They dunked on the Boston Celtics. Then, they danced all over them.

In an unforgettable season like none they’ve had before, the Cleveland Cavaliers are celebrating each milestone and moment.

LeBron James made five three-point shots and scored 29 points before swaying to the music in his seat, and the Cavaliers throttled the defending NBA champions, 107-76, Sunday to move to within one win of matching the 1985-86 Celtics for the best home record in league history.

At 39-1, the Cavaliers can tie Boston’s mark against Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Flexing their defensive muscles, the Cavaliers led 31-9 after the first quarter, opened a 30-point lead in the second and turned a possible playoff preview into a rout.

It was Cleveland’s most lopsided win ever in 173 games against the Celtics.

“I looked up at the scoreboard one time and they were shooting 15% from the floor,” James said. “That’s unbelievable.”

A message, LeBron?

“Haven’t we sent enough messages this year?” he said. “We know we’re a good team. It wasn’t a message. It was just about getting better.”

The Cavaliers (65-15) will clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with one more win or a loss by the Lakers (64-17).

The Cavaliers outclassed the Celtics, who were missing Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe and have nothing to play for but pride after locking up the East’s No. 2 seeding.

With Cleveland leading by 26 after three quarters, James was pulled by Coach Mike Brown.

When the reserves pushed the lead to 30, James, Mo Williams and Delonte West boogied together during a timeout as Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” pumped through the arena. The trio wasn’t shy about things as they mugged for TV cameras to the roaring crowd’s delight.

At the other end of the floor, the Celtics sat stoically.

“I’m always going to remember that,” guard Ray Allen said. “If I beat a team, as happy as I may be in victory, I’m always going to stay humble and always remember that there’s another day. We play each other too much. Those are great motivational thoughts for me.”

James insisted the Cavaliers weren’t being irreverent toward the Celtics.

“We’re not trying to disrespect any team or show up any team,” he said. “We’re all professionals. If you take it as disrespectful, then you got to do something about it.”