Cleveland (23-17) at Indiana (21-20) 7:00 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Peja Stojakovic was expecting to step in and add an outside presence to the inside force of Jermaine O'Neal. However, now he will have to play a bigger role since the Indiana Pacers star big man went down with a groin injury and will be out at least two months.

Neither will be on hand when the Pacers try to stop a slide when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday in a Central division matchup.

Stojakovic, who was acquired from the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday for Indiana forward Ron Artest, will not be play against the Cavaliers.

Without the inside-outside tandem, the Pacers will be hardpressed to stop a four-game losing streak against the team that pasted them, 96-66, on Tuesday.

In the humiliating defeat, Stephen Jackson scored 17 points and rookie Danny Granger added 12 and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost seven of their last 10. Before departing early in the fourth due to the injury, O'Neal collected seven points and 15 boards.

LeBron James netted 38 points, pulled down nine rebounds and handed out six assists in Cleveland's 106-97 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday. Donyell Marshall had 19 points off the bench with four 3-pointers and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 18. Drew Gooden finished with 11 points and 14 boards for the Cavaliers, who have won three straight after a six-game losing streak.

This is the fourth and final meeting this season between the clubs, with Cleveland holding a 2-1 advantage.