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#CavsPacers Game Preview - April 20, 2018

Game Summary

The Cavaliers will look to take the edge in their First Round series with the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Game 3 from Indianapolis. Tipoff from Bankers Life Fieldhouse is at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

The Wine & Gold are heading into their first road game of the 2018 NBA Postseason with some confidence after grabbing their first win of the series on Wednesday night, topping the Pacers, 100-97, in Game 2.

Cavaliers

CAVS TO DON WINE JERSEYS
From where to catch all the action to Friday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.

FOX Sports Ohio, ESPN

WTAM 1100, 87.7 FM La Mega

Joe G.'s guide to a victory.

Learn more about Friday's matchup.

Join Wine & Gold Nation and get into the convo.

In their Game 2 victory over the Pacers, Cleveland shot 37-73 (.507) from the field and made 11 three-pointers. During the 2017-18 regular season, the Cavs were 27-8 when connecting on at least .500 from the field and 46-18 when knocking down 10 threes or more.

With their offensive productivity, it's no surprise that the Wine & Gold now hold a 31-1 postseason record when shooting .500+ from the field since May 3, 2006 (18-1 since 2015 Playoffs).

On the defensive front, the Cavs held the Pacers to 6-22 (.273) shooting from beyond the arc in the Game 2 win, improving their playoff record to 21-1 when limiting opponents to under .300 shooting from three-point range since the 2015 Playoffs.

With their first win of the postseason, the Cavaliers also hold a 37-6 playoff record against Eastern Conference opponents, which includes a 19-3 mark at The Q and 18-3 mark on the road (going back to the 2015 Playoffs).

Looking forward to Friday night's Game 3 in Indy, Cleveland is 23-18 all-time in the third game of a series (8-4 since 2015 Playoffs). When splitting the first two games (1-1), the Cavs have gone on to win five different series in their franchise postseason history (4-3 in 1976 Semifinals vs. WAS, 4-3 in 1992 Semifinals vs. BOS, 3-2 in 1993 First Round vs. NJN, 4-2 in 2006 First Round vs. WAS & 4-2 in 2015 Semifinals vs. CHI).

Wine & Gold fans should also look out for some historical markers that could be broken come Friday night in the Hoosier State.

LeBron James (392 STL) is just four steals away from passing Scottie Pippen (395 STL) as the NBA’s all-time leader in career playoff steals. James (20 40-pt playoff games) can also pass Jerry West (20) for sole possession of the second most 40-point games in NBA playoff history if he performs anything like he did in Game 2, after scoring the Cavaliers' first 16 points on Wednesday. LBJ (99 double-doubles) needs just one double-double to reach 100 for his postseason career as well.

Among the Cavs all-time postseason leaders, Kevin Love (677 PTS, 419 REB) is 17 points away from passing Larry Nance Sr. (693 PTS) for 6th place in Cavs playoff history in points scored and one rebound shy of passing Brad Daugherty (419 REB) for fourth place in postseason rebounds with the Wine & Gold.

Where to Catch the Action

TV: FOX Sports Ohio, ESPN

Radio: WTAM 1100, 87.7 La Mega

Programming Note: On Friday, FOX Sports Ohio is airing the Reds – Cardinals (8:00 p.m.) and the Cavs – Pacers game (7:00 p.m.). To view TV listings, CLICK HERE.

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike and @chones22 on Twitter.

Probable Starters/Status Update*

#3 - George Hill

#26 - Kyle Korver

#5 - JR Smith

#23 - LeBron James

#0 - Kevin Love

G

G

F

F

C

#2 - Darren Collison

#4 - Victor Oladipo

#44 - Bojan Bogdanovic

#21 - Thaddeus Young

#33 - Myles Turner

Status Update: (Cavs) - None to Report

Status Update: (Pacers) - None to Report

*Subject to change.

Fan Guide

Series Stats

As mentioned, LeBron James went off in Wednesday's Game 2 victory, scoring Cleveland’s first 16 points and finishing the night with a game-high 46 points (17-24 FG, 2-5 3FG, 10-13 FT), a game-high 12 rebounds, a team-high five assists and two steals in 40 minutes.

It was James' 20th career 40-point postseason performance (tied Jerry West for the second-most in NBA playoff history) and his 10th career playoff game with 40+ points, 10+ rebounds and five-plus assists. In the first quarter, James scored 20 points, marking his second career 20-point quarter in postseason play (21 PTS in 1Q at BOS on May 7, 2010). James also
set a franchise record for points in a half with 29 points (12-16 FG) in the first half during the win over the Pacers.

Including the postseason, LBJ has also recorded a double-double in his last 11 games against the Pacers, including four triple-doubles (since 4/2/17). Over this 11-game run, James is averaging 32.5 points (.556 FG%), 9.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 2.45 steals and 1.36 blocks in 42.5 minutes.

James' fellow frontcourt mate, Kevin Love, is averaging a double-double so far in this series with 12.0 points and a team-high 12.5 rebounds, to go along with a .417 clip from three-point territory, in 34.3 minutes per game.

For Indiana, the Pacers' Game 1 hero, Victor Oladipo, had another solid night on Wednesday, notching 22 points and six assists. Through the first two games of this series, Oladipo is averaging 27.0 ppg and a shooting percentage of .541 through 32.5 minutes.

Big man Myles Turner is the Pacers' next-leading scorer, averaging 17 points .619 shooting in the series. On Wednesday, the center tallied 18 points and five rebounds.

On Deck

Following the conclusion of Game 3, the Cavs and Pacers duel again in Indy on Sunday, 8:30 p.m. (ET) on FSO/TNT for Game 4. Game 5 will take place at The Q on Wednesday, April 25, on FSO and NBA on TNT with a 7:00 p.m. Tipoff.