Bucks 104, Raptors 77:
LeBron James finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers set an NBA postseason record by erasing a 25-point halftime deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 119-114 on Thursday night and take a 3-0 lead.
James passed Kobe Bryant for No. 3 on the NBA’s career playoff scoring list and tied another NBA record by winning his 20th consecutive first-round game.
The Cavaliers will try to sweep the series Sunday.
The incredible rally ruined Paul George’s big night. He had 36 points, a playoff career-high 15 rebounds and nine assists.
Cleveland trailed by 26 in the first half and was still down 74-49 at halftime. The largest halftime deficit overcome to win a playoff game had been 21 points by Baltimore against Philadelphia in 1948.
James scored 13 points in the third quarter to get the Cavs within 91-84. Cleveland regained the lead twice during a 15-5 fourth-quarter run and closed it out with a 12-5 spurt.
James now has 5,669 points, 29 ahead of Bryant. He also matched three other ex-Los Angeles Lakers — Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper and James Worthy — for most consecutive firstround wins.
This comeback began with a second straight devastating third-quarter punch from the Cavs.
After Cleveland cut the deficit to 77-62 and then watched Indiana extend the margin to 20, Cleveland finished the quarter on a 17-4 run to make it 91-84. Khris Middleton scored 20 points as host Milwaukee overwhelmed cold-shooting Toronto to take a 2-1 lead in tthe first-round series.
Greg Monroe added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks, who held DeMar DeRozan without a basket and never looked back after leading by 20 points after the first quarter.
Game 4 is Saturday back at the Bradley Center.
Center Rudy Gobert will not play in Game 3 tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers after hyperextending his left knee and sustaining a bone bruise in the series opener. The firstround series as tied at 1 as it shifts to Salt Lake City.
Jazz: Warriors 110, Trail Blazers 81:
Stephen Curry scored 19 points on an off night and JaVale McGee sparked host Golden State off the bench with 15 points as the Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the first-round series without the injured Kevin Durant.
McGee made all seven of his field-goal attempts and delivered several more of his signature alley-oop dunks as Durant watched with a strained left calf.
The best-of-seven series shifts to Portland for Game 3 on Saturday night.
One day after saying his back was progressing, Tiger Woods had a fourth back surgery to alleviate pain and will go through another year without playing a major.
A day before the surgery Wednesday at the Texas Back Institute, Woods was in Missouri to announce plans to design a public golf course at Big Cedar Lodge, and he even tried hitting a few shots on a par 3. The first one rattled around in the rocks, and the second shot was about 10 feet from the flag.
Asked about his health during the ceremony, Woods said he had good days and bad days. Then he flew to Dallas for fusion surgery to create space in his lower back.
The announcement on his website Thursday said typical recovery from a single-level fusion surgery is six months.
“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” Woods said. “When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long.”
Woods, 41, first had back surgery — a microdiscectomy — a week before the 2014 Masters, and he tried to return in three months. He sat out three months at the end of 2014 to let his body fully heal.
But after a 2015 season in which he missed the cut in three majors, he had back surgery in September and another one in October.
He went 15 months without competition before returning in December at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where Woods made 24 birdies in 72 holes and swung freely.
But then he missed the cut at Torrey Pines in January, and he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 after opening with a 77, citing back spasms.
“You see him in the Bahamas, and he looked pretty good,” said Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management. “And then you see him in Dubai. It can happen any time. … This surgery, we hope, eliminates the bad days.”
Questions about the 14-time major champion have shifted from if he will win another major to if he will play another major.
The statement on his website said Woods’ bottom disc in his lower back has severely narrowed, causing sciatica and severe pain in his back and legs.
Steinberg said they were advised fusion surgery was the best option if Woods wanted an active lifestyle and was willing to sit out the rest of the season.
South African Branden Grace shot a 6-under 66 for the first-round lead at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
Stewart Cink was tied at 67 with Will MacKenzie, John Huh and New Zealander Steven Alker.
PGA Tour: European tour: / Asian
Bubba Watson fired a 6-under 66 to take a onestroke lead at the Shenzhen (China) International. South Africans Dean Burmester and Haydn Porteous were tied for second with Gregory Bourdy of France and German Maximilian Kieffer.