Playoffs back from scratch

Cavs, Bucks, Wizards square series

INDIANAPOLIS – LeBron James has been the first-round king for 12 years.

On Sunday night, 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.

In Washington, John Wall took over down the stretch after backcourt mate Bradley Beal fouled out, scoring or assisting on 10 of Washington’s last 14 points as the No. 8 seed Wizards came back to beat the No. 1 Toronto Raptors, 106-98, and even their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 2-all.

“When Brad went out,” Wall said, “I knew I had to do whatever it took.”

“I was beyond emotional. Beyond mad. Frustrated. Pretty much any synonym you can add,” Beal said. “I told my team that we were going to win, regardless. Especially if we’ve got John still in the game, I love our chances.”

Wall finished with 27 points and 14 assists and, at the other end of the court, guarded All-Star DeMar DeRozan, making sure the Wizards would not be pushed to the brink of elimination ahead of Game 5 at Toronto.

“He’s a big shot maker. A playmaker. It was what you want and what you expect,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “We needed him to step up. He stepped up big.”

In Milwaukee, All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and came up with a big play in the final seconds, tipping in the go-ahead basket with five seconds left, and the Bucks held on for a 104-102 win over the Boston Celtics to tie their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Boston’s Marcus Morris missed a 14-footer at the buzzer with Khris Middleton’s hand in his face to seal a nail-biting win for the Bucks.

Seconds earlier, the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo jumped and reached up with his left arm around Boston’s Jayson Tatum to put back Malcolm Brogdon’s missed layup for the game-winner.

In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help San Antonio beat the Golden State Warriors, 103-90, and stave off elimination.