With the Boston Celtics world championship banners hanging from the rafters, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks down during his team's loss to the Celtics Thursday. (AP)

BOSTON (AP) – With no title again for Cleveland this year, LeBron James will have to decide if it's time to go look for it elsewhere.

Helped by James' costly turnover early in the fourth quarter, the Boston Celtics pulled away to beat the Cavaliers 94-85 on Thursday, ending the Eastern Conference semifinal series and starting Cleveland's summer of anxiety.

James still finished with his sixth postseason triple-double, with 27 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. He did all he could for the Cavaliers.

And maybe that's the last he'll ever do for them.

The Cavaliers knew they were on the clock from the moment James signed his last contract, in July of 2006. Rather than sign for the maximum length of six years, he went for the option to become a free agent this summer.

“I want to win. That's my only thing, my only concern,” James said. “It's all about winning for me and the Cavs is committed to doing that, but at the same time I've given myself options to this point.

“You hope for things that's much brighter than what's going on right now. I'll come back a better player next season and I still have the same goals.”

Cleveland worked feverishly to build a team that would be too good for James to consider walking away from, but all it's managed was great regular seasons and early exits from the playoffs.

The Cavs were easily swept aside in the 2007 NBA finals, lost in the second round twice in the last three years to Boston, and were upset by Orlando in last year's conference finals.

The Cavs can still offer him the comforts of home and around $30 million more than any team, but several others make enticing pitches comes July 1:

• The New York Knicks can afford James and another superstar, and the chance to make basketball matter again at Madison Square Garden.

• The Miami Heat can pair him with Dwyane Wade with winter weather he could only dream of in Ohio.

• The Chicago Bulls can fit him between a young core of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and allow him to pick up winning titles where Michael Jordan left off.

James has never said he wanted to leave the Cavs, but there's long been speculation that he'd be willing to bolt for a larger market.

The Cavs thought they'd have more time before they had to face the thought of a future without James. They had the NBA's best record and expected to be playing into June, but found their supporting cast wasn't good enough on nights when James was human.

After scoring 38 points in Game 3, he managed only 37 over the next two games, perhaps bothered by a sprained elbow.

He went more than 19 minutes of game time without a basket from early in the second quarter until late in the third. Balls were stripped from his powerful hands, and those normally pinpoint passes were thrown behind teammates or at their feet.