If the Boston Celtics and their fans had any hope of making a series of the conference finals, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made sure to crush it in game 2. The memes after the final buzzer weren’t very forgiving.

And why should day? The Celtics, the #1 seed, with home court advantage, lost by 44 points, while going down to the half trailing 72-31, the biggest half-time lead/deficit in playoff history. They talked trash. They looked confident. But they haven’t shown up to this series, looking outplayed and outsmarted at every turn, minute and interval.

LeBron James had a +/- of +40 at halftime, finishing with a +46. Not for the first time in this series and probably not for the last, it looked like grown ups against little kids. People will talk about heart and the Celtics not putting in enough of an effort, but this is much bigger than this. It sends a shockwave through the whole franchise, and even puts the “untouchable” Brad Stevens into question if he can’t get his team to at least look half competent in their biggest series since 2012.

This might have been the last game of basketball we’ll see this season in Boston. This is a 7-game series, but only if things head that way. Right now, the Cavaliers look focused and capable of making short work of Boston in Ohio. This time, considering the Warriors are cruising in the West as well, it won’t mean a long rest before the next series.