On Sunday night Authentic Saquon Barkley Jersey , he needed Kyle Korver’s 3-point shooting to put him in position to extend his reign.
The two combined for all of Cleveland’s points in a late 10-2 run, helping the Cavaliers to a 104-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers to even the series at 2. James drew boos from the crowd after flipping the ball up the court to run out the clock.
”You don’t ever want to go down 3-1 against anybody, no matter if it’s the first round or if you’re fortunate enough to get all the way to the finals,” James said. ”It’s just too difficult.”
James finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and another crowning achievement – his 100th career playoff game with 30 or more points, second all-time to Michael Jordan.
This has been no typical series for James, who started the playoffs with an NBA-record 21 consecutive wins in the first round.
He’s already seen the Pacers go wire-to-wire in Game 1, miss a potential tying 3-pointer in the last 35 seconds of Game 2, rally from a 17-point deficit to win Game 3 and erase a 16-point, first-half deficit to take the lead early in the fourth.
This one looked and felt a lot like the three previous games – tough and physical down to a confusing sequence in the final seconds when Lance Stephenson was whistled for wrestling Jeff Green to the court while hoping for a jump ball.
Indiana still led 93-91 with 4:28 to go on Sunday.
Then James and Korver reverted to their old ways.
Korver’s 3 with 3:48 left made it 94-93, James followed with a layup Chris Iannetta Colorado Rockies Jersey , Korver knocked down another 3 and James added another layup to give the Cavs a 101-95 lead with 1:52 left.
Indiana never recovered.
Korver wound up with 18 points and four 3s to give him 200 in his postseason career.
And without those two 3s, James knew he might have been staring at a 3-1 deficit at the earliest stage of the playoffs in his career.
”He’s one of the all-time leaders in 3-pointers made,” James said. ”His four 3s were huge. We needed every last one of them, obviously.”
The Pacers, meanwhile, lamented a missed opportunity.
Despite having seven players score in double figures, making more baskets, grabbing more offensive rebounds and matching Cleveland’s 12 3s, Indiana missed six of its last eight shots.
Domantas Sabonis scored 19 points for Indiana. Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo each had 17, though Oladipo was just 5 of 20 from the field.
Only this time, as in Game 2, Indiana couldn’t quite finish.
”We just didn’t play the game the right way www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-patrick-omameh-jersey ,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. ”You get into these games, these emotional games, and you’re so pumped up – sometimes you try do some things yourself. Usually, those things don’t work.”
After the Cavs took a 49-33 lead with 6:01 left in the first half, the Pacers used a 10-2 run to get within 60-50 at the half then opened the second half on a 10-2 spurt to make it 62-50.
Cleveland extended the lead 76-68 lead with 4:41 left in the third only to watch the Pacers score the last six points of the quarter, tie the score on Lance Stephenson’s 11-footer to open the fourth and then take the lead on Sabonis’ 3-pointer with 10:51 left.
From that point, it was an all-out slugfest that included James getting called for a technical foul with 6:12 to play.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: James extended his record of games with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists to 75. … J.R. Smith scored 12 points and Jordan Clarkson each scored 12 points. … Kevin Love had five points and 11 rebounds. … Cleveland outscored Indiana 17-7 on fast-break points and became the first team in the series to top 100 points.
Pacers: Have lost six of their last eight playoff games against Cleveland. … Thad Young has 12 points and a playoff career-high 16 rebounds. … Indiana committed only nine turnovers but was outscored 17-13 off turnovers.
UPHILL BATTLE
Cavaliers point guard George Hill missed Game 4 with back spasms, an injury he first suffered during Game 1 and aggravated during Game 3.
It’s not clear whether he’ll be ready to play Wednesday, either.
”There’s just not a lot of movement there,” coach Tyronn Lue said before the game.
With Hill out, the Cavs plugged veteran Jose Calderon into the starting lineup. Calderon finished with two points and one assist after failing to enter Game 3.
THEY SAID IT
Cavaliers: ”We came on the road in a hostile environment and got a big win after a letdown in the last game Thomas Rawls Color Rush Jersey ,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. ”When you lose a tough game, it’s tough to bounce back, especially on the road. It’s a tribute to our guys and their character.”
Pacers: ”We need to calm down and execute,” McMillan said when asked what needs to change. ”You play the game together and you play for each other. We weren’t connected (in Game 4).”
UP NEXT
Game 5 will be played Wednesday in Cleveland.
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HOUSTON — Houston Astros veteran catcher Brian McCann pledged on Friday that he will return before the regular season concludes despite undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee earlier in the week.
McCann was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday. There is no timetable for his return.
McCann had dealt with recurring knee pain since last year. After posting a 108 OPS in his first campaign with the Astros in 2017, McCann was down to a 73 OPS this season, slashing .206/.283/.323 with five home runs and 17 RBIs over 50 games. McCann has played in 1,657 games since making his debut on June 10, 2005, catching 12,733 innings with the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Astros during the regular season.
“He’s got a little bit of mileage on him when it comes to catching games www.saintsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-marcus-davenport-jersey ,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, a former catcher. “His knees have held up fine and he can play through a lot of pain. I think that’s what I appreciate the most in learning and knowing how much pain he played through. He tried, and he did a lot of things to post for our pitching staff. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s one of the most respected guys in there is what he’s willing to do to contribute.
“As his play declined, his comfort declined and what it took for him to play every day, we needed to get it taken care of.”
Right-hander Charlie Morton (10-2, 2.55 ERA) will get the start for the Astros on Saturday. Morton has faced the White Sox once previously, working seven shutout innings while allowing four hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a 3-0 victory with the Pirates on June 16, 2015.
Morton is 24-9 with a 3.18 ERA and 296 strikeouts over 249 innings with the Astros.
In his past two starts, Morton has dominated in a win against Toronto and a loss to Tampa. In a 7-0 win against the Blue Jays he struck out 13 in seven innings. The Rays touched him up for two runs, but that was enough for a 3-2 Tampa Bay win. Morton struck out 11 in 6 2/3 innings.
Right-hander James Shields (3-9, 4.12 ERA) will start for the White Sox (30-58) on Saturday. He is 1-4 with a 5.17 ERA on the road this season and 2-3 with a 3.19 ERA over seven career starts against the Astros. In his only start against Houston this season, Shields gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss in a 10-0 defeat on April 20.
In 76 games (75 starts) against the American League West Browns Baker Mayfield Jersey , Shields is 26-26 with a 3.83 ERA.
With right-hander Reynaldo Lopez working just 4 2/3 innings, the Chicago bullpen was forced to shoulder a heavy load again on Friday. Right-hander Chris Volstad, and lefties Luis Avilan and Hector Santiago combined to allow eight runs on seven hits and one walk over 3 1/3 innings in Chicago’s 11-4 loss, marking the 10th consecutive game the White Sox bullpen has surrendered a run.
Chicago relievers have pitched 303 2/3 innings this season, eighth-most in the American League.
“Obviously, (Lopez) didn’t give us the outing we were looking for,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “Worked through quite a bit of traffic, some deep counts, pitch count ran up there a bit. Had to give it to the relief corps again, which is strained.”
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