Pacers erase 17-point deficit to edge
Bucks rout Celtics, close series gap 2-1 Wall, Beal lead Wizards past Raptors in 3
Indiana forward Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points to lift the Pacers to 92-90 come-from-behind victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Bogdanovic scored 15 in the fourth quarter as the Pacers overcame a 17-point halftime hole to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Game 4 will be Sunday night in Indianapolis.
Bogdanovic hit 11 of 15 shots, including 7 of 9 three-point attempts. Victor Oladipo scored 18 for the Pacers.
LeBron James scored 28 points on 10 of 22 shooting and also posted game highs of 12 rebounds and eight assists. Kevin Love added 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting.
After three-pointers by James and Love cut the Pacers’ edge to 91-90 with 7.7 seconds to go, Pacers guard Darren Collison hit the first of two free throws with five seconds to go. J.R. Smith missed a game-winning three-point attempt at the buzzer.
The Pacers started the third quarter with a 13-4 edge to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 61-53 with 6:24 left. Cleveland led 69-63 after three quarters. The Cavaliers were 5 of 19 from the field in the third quarter while the Pacers were 9 of 19.
Bogdanovic’s three-pointer cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 75-73. Oladipo hit two free throws with 8:38 to go to tie it at 75-all. With the scored tied at 77-all, Bogdanovic converted a four-point play after being fouled on a three-pointer to give Indiana its first lead at 81-77 with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter. After Cleveland threw the ball away, Bogdanovic sank another three-pointer.
Back-to-back three-pointers by James closed the gap to 84-83. After James hit one of two free throws, the Pacers went on a 7-0 run, started by Bogdanovic’s driving layup and followed by his 30-foot three.
The Pacers shot 46.6 percent while the Cavaliers hit 44.2 percent.
Love, who reportedly partially tore a ligament in his left thumb in Game 2, scored 16 as Cleveland dominated with a 57-40 advantage at halftime. Love sank a three-pointer with 39 seconds remaining in the half to give the Cavs the 17-point margin, their largest of the half. Cleveland shot 53.8 percent in the first half while the Pacers hit 45.7 percent.
Bogdanovic picked up two fouls in the first three minutes, but came back to lead Indiana with 11 points in the first half.
The Cavaliers sank 11 of 18 shots (61.1 percent) to take a 31-20 lead after the first quarter. The Pacers were hampered by seven of the their 10 first-half turnovers in the first quarter. Cleveland had six first-half turnovers.
Indiana committed 17 turnovers, one more than Cleveland overall.
Bucks 116, Celtics 92
Khris Middleton had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 as host Milwaukee beat Boston in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Eric Bledsoe and Jabari Parker scored 17 apiece and Thon Maker had 14 for Milwaukee, which trails the best-ofseven series 2-1. The Bucks are seeking their first playoff series win since 2000-01, but they’ve never won a series after trailing 0-2.
Parker, who averaged 12.6 points during the regular season, had been held to two points on 1 of 7 shooting over the first two games of the series.
Al Horford finished with 16 points, Greg Monroe scored 15 against his former team and Jayson Tatum had 14 for Boston.
Wizards 122, Raptors 103
John Wall and Bradley Beal scored 28 points apiece as Washington climbed back into its first-round series with a home victory over Toronto.
Wall added 14 assists for the Wizards, who trail the Raptors 2-1 in the series. Game 4 is Sunday in Washington, where the Wizards have won seven straight playoff games.
DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, and Kyle Lowry finished with 19 points for the Raptors, who committed 18 turnovers.
Pop to miss Spurs’ Game 4
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will miss Sunday’s Game 4 of the playoff series with the Golden State Warriors due to the recent death of his wife, the team announced Saturday.
Erin Popovich died Wednesday at age 67 after a long illness. Gregg Popovich also missed Thursday’s Game 3.
Ettore Messina will again coach the Spurs in Game 4. San Antonio trails 3-0 in the Western Conference firstround series.
The Spurs lost 110-97 in Game 3 with Messina running the team.
“I think that everybody did a fantastic job as players, as people working in the organization, as staff, really trying to support each other and face this moment like it should be faced,” Messina told reporters after Game 3. “With support of friends. There is nothing that should be faced individually at this level of sad event.”
Erin and Gregg Popovich were married for four decades and had two children – Jill and Mickey – and two grandchildren.