Post Up: The Comeback

Cavs 119, Pacers 114 (Cavs lead 3-0)

Myles Turner’s dunk provided the spark, and Lance Stephenson and Kevin Seraphin brought energy off the bench, building a 26-point first half lead for the Pacers. Paul George recorded 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the first half. With just under 5 minutes remaining in the third, trailing by 20, the Cavs caught fire, cutting the lead to seven going into the fourth.

Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat out the entire fourth quarter to let LeBron James dominate the game, leading Cleveland to tie the biggest comeback in playoff history (Clippers, 2012). The King picked up the 17th triple-double (41 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) of his playoff career and the Cavs outscored the Pacers by 30 in the second half.

Bucks 104, Raptors 77 (Bucks lead 2-1)

The Bucks led for the whole game, holding the Raptors to 33% shooting. Six Bucks scored in double-figures, led by 20 points from Khris Middleton. Milwaukee made 12 three-pointers, had 29 assists on 39 fields. They had more dimes than the Raptors had field goals.

Toronto put up only 12 points in the first quarter. Kyle Lowry, who had 13 points and 5 rebounds, said after the game, “‘It’s a terrible feeling. We better pick it up. Our confidence is not changed. We’ll be fine.”

Grizzlies 105, Spurs 94 (Spurs lead 2-1)

After two disheartening losses in San Antonio, the Grizzlies came home to a roaring crowd that pushed them to a convincing win. Zach Randolph got the start, his first of the series and since late March. He ended up with 21 points and continually punished the Spurs’ defenders, bullying his way to buckets. Marc Gasol also scored 21 and Mike Conley scored 24 points to go along with his 8 assists.

The Grizzlies won by putting the clamps on the Spurs. SASĀ had only 16 assists, which is rare. There were only 18 times this season they didn’t dish out at least 20 helpers. Memphis made their run in the third quarter, winning the frame 31-17. They held the silver and black to 33% shooting in that quarter and they didn’t look back after that.