N.B.A. Playoffs - LeBron James Has Chance to Even the Score With Boston Lebron James is playing his fourth playoff series against the Celtics, the most against any team. BOSTON - Jerry West had the Celtics. Michael Jordan had the Pistons. Some of the great ones had to wait their turn. The process could be painful and even humiliating. For a while, LeBron James, like West, also had the Celtics in his way. He had no luck against them while a member of the Cavaliers. Things have turned since he signed with Miami, with one major hurdle still in the way - dispatching Boston on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. West lost to the Celtics a humbling six times in the finals, including one series in which he averaged a stunning 40.6 points a game (1965) and another in which he was named the most valuable player despite being on the losing team (1969.) He never beat them as a player in the postseason, but he did oversee the Lakers" title teams of the 1980s, who twice beat the Celtics. He won a ring as a player in 1972. Jordan's Bulls lost three straight times to the Pistons (1988, 1989, 1990) and he was similarly regarded as James is now - an athletic marvel and spectacular talent who could not win the big one - before breaking through in 1991. That year the Bulls swept the Pistons in the Eastern finals and went on to win the first of their six titles. James is playing his fourth playoff series against the Celtics, the most against any team. The 2008 Celtics, en route to their 17th title, needed seven games to eliminate Cleveland in the second round. James made it especially difficult with a 45-point performance in Game 7. Two years later, James inexplicably went south (before really going south, to South Beach) by going 11 for 35 in Games 5 and 6 and totaling 42 points in both losses. The Celtics won in six games. In his first season in Miami, James finally broke through against Boston. The favored Heat eliminated a banged-up Celtics team in five games in the second round last year. James then served notice on Thursday night that he is ready to even the score - and hasten the breakup of Boston's celebrated trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce - after his 45-point explosion squared the conference finals at three games apiece. "It will probably go down as a historic playoff performance," Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said on Friday. Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said: "If they win Game 7, it will be remembered as a historic performance. If we win Game 7, it'll be just another great game. Does James have it in him for an encore? History says no; the last time anyone had 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in a playoff game was in 1964, when Wilt Chamberlain did it, according to ESPN. James has scored 40 or more points in a playoff game 11 times, winning seven of those games. He has had successive 40-point playoff games once, in Games 3 and 4 of the 2009 conference finals against Orlando. Cleveland lost both games. "I don't know," James said after Game 6. I will continue to be aggressive. I will try to continue to play at a high level like I done the whole postseason. I don't really care what the stats say. I won't regret Game 7. Win, lose or draw, I'm going to go in with the mind-set like I've had this whole season. And we'll see what happens. Through the first five games of this series, James was clearly the best player on the floor, but Garnett and Rajon Rondo were the ones dominating the games. Garnett (12 points, 5 rebounds) looked mechanical and creaky on Thursday night, and while Rondo had his moments, he also had seven turnovers. Garnett and Allen, both soon-to-be unrestricted free agents, could well have played their last games as Celtics in Boston. The return of Chris Bosh has helped Miami with its defense against Garnett, who had his way inside as the Celtics took a 3-2 lead in Miami. The third member of Miami's famed triumvirate has yet to really impose his will in the series. Dwyane Wade did not have to do much on Thursday. He missed almost two-thirds of shots, had a ho-hum 17 points, and none of it mattered. He is averaging a shade more than 21 points a game as the Celtics have double-teamed him constantly to get the ball out of his hands. Asked if he was concerned about his shooting percentage in the series, which stands at 44 percent, Wade said: "I'm not going to worry about that. I'm not in an individual's mind state. I'm doing whatever I can to help us win. I'll still make an impact on the game. I'm not a one-dimensional player. While one could suggest that Wade is overdue for an offensive explosion, all eyes will still be on his more celebrated teammate. James continues to battle the reputation that he disappears in big games, reinforced by his numbers against Boston in 2010 as well as in the last three games of the 2011 finals against Dallas (20 of 45, 46 total points). He took a huge step toward silencing his many critics with his performance in Game 6. If he can somehow find a way to replicate the result of Game 6 on Saturday night, if not the statistical output, then he will not only have evened things with his erstwhile tormentors, but he also will have helped slam the door shut on Boston's Big Three. Edgar Thompson contributed reporting.