James leads big comeback by Cavaliers
LeBron James celebrated another milestone with the greatest second-half comeback in playoff history.
Win one more at Indiana, and the four-time MVP will be crowned king of the first round.
James scored 41 points while padding his postseason resume with yet another triple-double, leading defending champion Cleveland back from a 25-point halftime deficit to a 119-114 victory over the Pacers in Indianapolis on Thursday night. The Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference first-round series 3-0.
“We knew we had to take (some) punches, but it was a flurry, more than we expected,” James said. “At halftime, I was just looking at the guys and telling them, ‘Let’s get a couple stops.’ ”
Officially, it will go down as the third-largest comeback in playoff history. But the largest halftime deficit overcome previously was 21 points, by Baltimore against Philadelphia in 1948.
As for James, he keeps moving up in the record books, too.
He scored 28 in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds and 12 assists, moving past Kobe Bryant and into third on the NBA’s playoff scoring list. Bryant had 5,640 points; James now has 5,669.
James also won his 20th consecutive first-round game, matching a feat achieved by three other former Lakers: Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Win Sunday, and he’ll have the longest first-round winning streak under the current playoff format, which began in 1984.
Cleveland has won 11 straight first-round games since James returned to his hometown team.
“I just try to put myself in position to help my teammates win — no matter who’s on the floor with me,” James said. “I just don’t settle for being not as great as I can be. The only thing that matters is (winning) — that’s what I’m here for.” Grizzlies 105, Spurs 94: Mike Conley scored 24 points and handed out eight assists as Memphis snapped a 10-game postseason skid against San Antonio.
The host Grizzlies trail 2-1 in the first-round Western Conference series after giving firstyear head coach David Fizdale his first postseason victory. It was the Grizzlies’ first win over the Spurs in the playoffs since April 2011, when Memphis eliminated San Antonio in six games.
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph each scored 21 points for Memphis, which outscored San Antonio 31-17 in the third quarter and led by as many as 22 in the second half.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, who scored 32 and 37 in the first two games, was held to 18. LaMarcus Aldridge added 16, and Kyle Anderson had 15 as San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich benched his starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Game 4 is Saturday night. Bucks 104, Raptors 77: Khris Middleton scored 20 points and host Milwaukee overwhelmed cold-shooting Toronto to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.
Greg Monroe added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks, who held DeMar DeRozan without a basket and did not look back after leading by 20 points after the first quarter.
Milwaukee All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 19 points and eight boards.
Game 4 is Saturday back at the Bradley Center. Briefly: Utah center Rudy Gobert (knee injury) will miss his second straight game when the Jazz play the Clippers in Game 3 of their series Friday . ... Police in Manhattan Beach (Los Angeles County) are investigating an allegation of domestic violence against Utah reserve center Jeff Withey. Police spokesman Sgt. Tim Zins said a police report had been filed and detectives are looking into it.