Cavaliers finish off Pacers in 4 games

Celtics pull even with Bulls, Jazz with Clippers

INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James made a 3-pointer with 68 seconds left, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers sweep their playoff series against the Indiana Pacers with a 106-102 victory on Sunday. James finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds. He became the first player under the current playoff format to win 21 straight firstround games, and he also set a league record with his 10th career playoff sweep.

It sure wasn’t easy. After taking a 96-83 lead with 9:29 to go, the Cavs found themselves in a 102-100 deficit with 1:31 left.

But James answered with his big 3-pointer, and Cleveland sealed the win on James’ free throw with 1 second left.

Lance Stephenson scored 22 points for Indiana. Paul George had 15, but missed a 3-pointer that could have forced overtime in the closing seconds.

Kyrie Irving added 28 points for the Cavs, who await the winner of the Bucks-Raptors series.

CELTICS 104, BULLS 95

CHICAGO — Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points, and the Celtics beat the Bulls to tie their first-round playoff series at 2-all. Boston blew a 20-point lead, but Thomas keyed a third-quarter run that put the Celtics back on top after Chicago briefly went ahead.

Gerald Green made four 3-pointers on his way to 18 points, helping the top-seeded Celtics return the favor in Chicago after dropping the first two games at home. Al Horford added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Boston.