2017-18 Game Rewind

Wheat Hotchkiss

Pacers fans won't soon forget the 2017-18 team.

Almost every expert pegged them as a lottery team prior to the season, but somehow, they won 48 games and went toe to toe with the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers for seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

Even in their 105-101 loss in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon, they showcased their trademark resilience. Indiana rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit on the road, taking the lead midway through the third quarter and briefly silencing the sellout crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.

But in the end, they did not have quite enough to overcome another otherworldly performance by LeBron James, who finished 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Cavaliers to the second round, where they will face the top-seeded Toronto Raptors.

Nonetheless, throughout the seven-games series, the Pacers did exactly what they had already done during the regular season — they left it all on the floor every night and they never gave in, all the way up until the final buzzer.

"If y'all don't respect the Indiana Pacers now, I have no respect for you," Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo said after the game. "That's just how I feel. Nobody thought we were going to be here. No one. Not one person but us in the locker room. I feel like we've earned our respect from everyone."

They certainly earned it from James, who went out of his way to praise the Pacers in his postgame press conference.

"Kudos and a big shout out to the Indiana Pacers, first of all," James said. "They were tough. A tough team.

"Obviously they have the head of the snake in Vic (who) made an unbelievable jump from last year to this year. We all saw it and he proved why he's a franchise-caliber player. And everybody on down, they've just got a well-rounded team and definitely pushed us to the brink."

After losing by 34 points in Game 6, Cleveland changed up its starting lineup for Game 7. For the first time all series, head coach Tyronn Lue started Tristan Thompson at center. Thompson replaced point guard Jose Calderon, giving the Cavs a bigger look with James running the point.

The Pacers got off to a slow start, missing their first five shots — all of them coming from beyond the 3-point arc. A pair of free throws by Darren Collison provided Indiana's only points in the first four minutes as the Cavs jumped out to a 9-2 lead.

Thompson, meanwhile, made an early impact on the interior for Cleveland. The 6-9, 238-pound big man played the first 10:46 of the first quarter and racked up six points and seven rebounds (two of them offensive).

"I didn't know he was starting until they announced it," Pacers center Myles Turner said. "He was big on the glass and made some big shots."

At the same time, James was his usual brilliant self, making all five of his attempts in the first quarter on his way to 13 points. Cleveland led by as many as 13 in the opening frame and took a 31-19 lead into the second quarter.

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The Cavs extended their lead to 14 points in the second quarter before the Pacers mounted a charge. Playing a three-guard lineup with Darren Collison, Cory Joseph, and Oladipo, Indiana reeled off 10 unanswered points to climb back into the game.

Lance Stephenson replaced Joseph shortly thereafter and the Cavs went right at him, posting up James on Stephenson for five straight possessions. Cleveland scored on all five of those possessions — the first two off James assists and the last three off James baskets — to go on a 12-4 run.

They maintained a double-digit advantage for the rest of the half, taking a 54-43 lead into the locker room.

"They just kind of jumped on us," Pacers forward Thaddeus Young said of the first half. "We've been able to recover in previous games, but they did a really good job."

Cleveland scored the first two points of the second half, but the Pacers scored the next nine to quickly make it a four-point game. Back-to-back threes by Young and Bojan Bogdanovic shortly therafter gave Indiana its first lead of the game at 59-58 with 7:12 left in the third.

The Pacers briefly extended their lead to three points before the Cavs moved back in front, taking the lead for good on James' dunk with 4:22 left in the frame.

James exited the game for the first time with a minute left in the third quarter and headed to Cleveland's locker room with minor cramps. He was not on the bench for the start of the fourth quarter, but returned from the locker room in the first minute of the final frame.

Even without their star to open the fourth, the Cavs were able to extend their lead in the opening minutes, thanks to three free throws from George Hill and a 3-pointer by Kevin Love.

James returned with 8:25 to play and Cleveland leading, 86-79. Cleveland quickly stretched the margin to 12, thanks to two more Hill free throws and another three by Love.

The hosts kept the Blue & Gold at arm's length for the next several minutes, but Indiana mounted a final charge. After slowly clawing away at their deficit, the Pacers made it a 100-96 game on Oladipo's layup with 50.1 seconds remaining.

But on the ensuing possession, James dished to Kyle Korver on the wing, who found a cutting James for the game-sealing layup with 30.2 seconds to play.

"They won the series," Collison said. "You've got to give them credit. LeBron was amazing. Some of their guys stepped up in a big-time game."

Oladipo led Indiana with 30 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals and was excellent throughout the second half, scoring 25 of his points over the final two quarters.

Collison, meanwhile, scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half. Young added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, while Domantas Sabonis chipped in 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Thompson, who had just a total of three points and six rebounds in just 23 total minutes over the first six games of the series, finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes for Cleveland.

Love added 14 points — eight of them coming during a pivotal stretch early in the fourth quarter — and six rebounds.

Hill did not play in the first half and had missed the previous three games due to back spasms, but played 19:12 in the second half and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. He went 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

"Unfortunately, it ended a little sour, but I wouldn't trade this year for (anything) or the men in that locker room for anyone," Oladipo said.

"It's been a phenomenal year. I left it all out there, we left it all out there...It was an honor to play alongside those gentlemen and I look forward to growing with them in the future."

Oladipo scored 30 points for the second time in the series (he had 32 in Game 1). And though he had just two regular season games with double-digit rebounds, Oladipo recorded 12 or more boards in each of the last three games against the Cavs.

The Pacers outscored Cleveland 44-30 in the paint on Sunday and won that stat category in all seven games of the series.

The Cavaliers had just one turnover at halftime, but Indiana forced them into 10 giveaways in the second half.

James topped 40 points for the third time this series. Cleveland won all three of those games, including Game 2 (when he scored 46) and Game 5 (when he scored 44). His 45 points on Sunday were the second-most in a Game 7 win in NBA playoff history, trailing only Sam Jones, who scored 47 for the Celtics in a Game 7 victory in 1963.

Thompson's double-double was his first since Feb. 9 against Atlanta.

"You know, now you're trying to defend LeBron. At times, you're sending double teams. You're trying to cover the perimeter and now you got Thompson in there, in the middle, who is just aggressive. You need two guys so it puts a lot of pressure on the defense when you're trying to help in other areas and Tristan is on the boards, pounding you, giving them extra opportunities." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan on how Thompson starting impacted Game 7

"There's a lot of positives about this about this season, about this series that we can hang out hats on. But we just feel like we missed the opportunity to win this series." -Collison

"It was a great year, but honestly I feel like I haven't even really scratched the surface of what I can be." -Oladipo

"There is no group of guys I'd rather be around. This has been an amazing season for us as a team. Nobody expected us to be at this point, where we won 48 games in the regular seasons and take Cleveland to seven. But the resiliency of this team and us fighting through adversity, it speaks to our character, our professionalism, and us as basketball players." -Young

"After Game 6, I looked at Bron (LeBron James), Swish (J.R. Smith) and K Love (Kevin Love) and said, 'You know, we've been through this before. We've been to Game 7s. We know what it takes. So the new guys are going to look at us, so we’ve got to come out ready to play.'" -Thompson

"I'm burnt right now. I'm not thinking about Toronto right now until tomorrow. I'm ready to go home." -James

Including Sunday, when they outscored the Cavaliers by seven points after halftime, the Pacers outscored Cleveland by a total of 56 points in the second half over the course of the series.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 101, Cavaliers 105 (Game 7)

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For three straight games, Victor Oladipo seemed to be struggling with his shot.

But with the Pacers trailing the Cavaliers 3-2 and facing elimination, Oladipo rediscovered his touch at the perfect time, delivering a masterful 28-point triple-double as Indiana staved off elimination with a forceful 121-87 statement victory over the Cavs, sending the series to a Game 7 in Cleveland.

"I just got out of my own way and made shots," said Oladipo after the game. "I was shooting the shots I've been shooting all year, just shot them with confidence."

The 34-point win was largely decided in the closing minutes of the third quarter. The Pacers — already leading by 16 at the time — were ignited when Oladipo raced down the lane and put down a thundering jam over a leaping LeBron James, sending the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse into hysterics.

On their next possession, Lance Stephenson connected on a 3-pointer to further electrify the crowd.

By the time Indiana's rollicking third quarter run was finished, The Pacers had outscored the Cavs 10-1 in the final 1:50 of the frame, which opened up a 25-point lead entering the fourth.

"We were better connected on both ends of the floor," said Pacers head coach Nate McMillan. "I thought the defense was connected. We were solid offensively. We moved the ball, attacked the basket and pretty much played that way for the 48 minutes"

With the game well out of reach for the Cavaliers, James — who led his team with 22 points — never returned as the Pacers closed out the 34-point win with ease.

Aside from Oladipo — who recorded the first playoff triple-double of his career and the third in Pacers' NBA franchise history — Indiana was aided by a balanced scoring night across the board. All five Pacers starters reached double figures, while Domantas Sabonis (16 points) and Lance Stephenson (12 points, six assists) each delivered strong performances off of the bench.

On Cleveland, James' supporting cast struggled to contribute. Aside from James, not one Cavs starter reached double figures as Cleveland finished the night shooting 41.8 percent from the field.

"The third quarter, it seemed like they played more physical and they had everything going for them," said Kevin Love, who finished with seven points. "They were able to be very effective in transition."

In the early moments of the do-or-die Game 6, the Pacers got the crowd involved as  Oladipo swished a 3-pointer, then followed up with a two-handed slam off of a fastbreak. But after jumping ahead 17-14 on the dunk, Cleveland's offense began to fire away, running off an 8-0 sprint that featured back-to-back 3-pointers from James and Kevin Love.

By the time Love's three fell through, Cleveland had hit on six of its first nine attempts from long range, bolstering the Cavs lead.

Following a timeout from Pacers head coach Nate McMillan, Indiana's offense started to take flight, using a super-charged first quarter from Oladipo — who scored 15 points in his first shift on the floor — to take the lead.

After a steal from Oladipo ended up in the hands of Stephenson in the open court, Lance dished it back to Oladipo who threw down a 180-degree, two-handed slam, sending The Fieldhouse into pandemonium as Indiana led 29-26 at the end of the opening quarter.

With the bench units in the game to begin the second, Indiana continued to build on its lead, getting a 3-pointer from Stephenson to go up 36-32. Moments later, Sabonis continued his strong play with an and-1, opening up a six-point lead for the Blue & Gold.

After the Pacers led by as much as 11, the Cavaliers began to rally, getting their deficit down to just five points in the closing moments of the first half. Luckily, the Pacers again had an answer, using a Darren Collison 3-pointer and a Bojan Bogdanovic jumper to take a 57-47 lead at the break.

Opening up the third, it was more of the same for Indiana, getting a layup from Myles Turner and a three from Oladipo to quickly pounce ahead by 15, triggering a Cavaliers timeout just 1:20 into the frame.

James, playing with a bandaged head due to a gash above his left eye, worked to pull his team back into the game, connecting on a jumper to get the Cavs within 13. It was then that the Pacers erupted, outscoring Cleveland 10-3 to open up a yawning 20-point advantage.

When Boganovic's corner three sailed through the hoop, the Cavs signaled for timeout with 5:50 in the third while Indiana's starters lifted their arms to the home crowd, imploring them to keep the volume turned up at The Fieldhouse.

To close the quarter, the crowd did just that, reaching a deafening pitch as Oladipo dropped a hammer on James with a thundering dunk. After the slam, Lance and Oladipo each sent home threes, with Sabonis closing the quarter on a tip in from a broken play.

By the end of the period, Indiana had outscored the Cavaliers 35-20, taking a massive 25-point lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the Pacers never gave Cleveland an opening to climb back in the game, finishing out the season-saving 121-87 win and sending the series back to Cleveland for the winner-take-all matchup on Sunday.

"We're looking forward to it," said Oladipo of Game 7. "There's nothing wrong with a little challenge. Obviously, it's a big challenge ahead but we're looking forward to the game."

After being held to 100 or fewer points in all five games of the series, Indiana erupted for 121 points.

Indiana smashed the Cavs on the glass, outrebounding Cleveland 36-26.

The Pacers lit it up from beyond the arc, making 15-of-30 shots from behind the arc.

On the fastbreak, the Pacers outscored the Cavaliers 35-12.

After going 9-of-11 from the field, Domantas Sabonis has now made 29 of his last 40 field goal attempts.

"Vic was amazing today, defensively, it just seemed like I saw like three, four Vics out there today. You know, he's our leader, he's our best player. We kind of follow his lead." -Darren Collison on Oladipo's night.

"It's do or die for us, and we came out with a sense of urgency. I thought that we did a good job of pressuring the ball and keeping the ball in front of us. Not allowing them to get to the basket as they did in Game 5. We were much better connected on both ends of the floor." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"Just went out there and played. Did everything with confidence. Didn't overthink it. Just play, read, and react." -Victor Oladipo

"Win or go home. It's just that simple." -LeBron James on Game 7

Oladipo's 28-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double was the highest scoring playoff triple-double in the Pacers' NBA franchise history, surpassing Paul George (23 points) and Mark Jackson (22 points).

On Sunday afternoon, the Pacers will face the Cavaliers for a winner-take-all Game 7 in Cleveland.

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Game Rewind: Pacers 121, Cavaliers 87 (Game 6)

The Pacers fought valiantly on Wednesday night in Cleveland, but in the end, LeBron James' herculean effort was too much for Indiana.

James' buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted the Cavaliers to a 98-95 win over the Pacers in Game 5 at Quicken Loans Arena. It was the final stroke of a masterful 44-point, 10-rebound, 8-assist performance from James and pushed the Pacers to the brink of elimination in their best-of-seven first-round series.

"I got screened by Kyle Korver a little bit," Pacers forward Thaddeus Young, who was guarding James on the final possession, said after the game. "I could have stayed closer. That last shot's on me.

"I definitely take that on my shoulders to be able to go out there and guard guys and force them to take tough shots...but he made a hell of a shot."

The Cavaliers looked on their way to a comfortable win after a dominant third quarter, but went cold down the stretch, opening the door for a Pacers comeback.

The Pacers trailed by eight heading into the fourth quarter and twice got within four points in the first eight minutes of the final quarter, but were unable to make it a one-possession game during that stretch.

Young's layup with 2:54 to play made it a 95-91 game and after a stop, Bojan Bogdanovic followed his own miss and dished to Young for another bucket to make it a two-point game with 2:10 remaining.

Domantas Sabonis eventually tied the game on a jumper with 33.6 seconds to play. After a timeout, James lost the ball out of bounds.

Pacers All-Star guard Victor Oladipo was mired in a horrific shooting night — 2-for-14 at that point — but head coach Nate McMillan still put the ball in his hands. Oladipo appeared to reward him, driving back James for what looked like an easy layup, but James somehow recovered to pin his shot against the backboard.

James appeared to be too late, not touching the shot until after the ball had hit the backboard, but was not called for a goaltend and the play was not reviewed.

After the game, Pacers players were confused about the call and why it was not reviewed. The apparent reasoning was that the play could only have been reviewed if the call on the floor was a goaltend, but not the other way around.

"It is what it is," Pacers center Myles Turner said. "It was clearly a goaltend. They didn't review it. There's not anything you can say about it.

"It's frustrating. It doesn't change the fact that LeBron still hit that game-winning shot, but it's still a pivotal moment in the game that I feel does need a review."

The Cavs called timeout with three seconds left, setting the stage for James' heroics.

"As a kid, you always have those 3, 2, 1 moments, and being able to have one of those moments, that's what it kind of felt like," James said. "It felt like I was a kid all over again, just playing basketball at my house (with a) makeshift hoop and my socks as a basketball and making the noise — so that's what it felt like."

The Pacers had fallen into double-digit deficits in the first half in each of the last three games, but they turned the tables at the start of Wednesday's contest. Indiana attacked the basket early and often in Game 5, scoring 12 of its first 25 points in the paint and getting eight more from the free throw line to race out to a 25-15 lead.

But James dominated the last two minutes of the first quarter, getting a layup on four consecutive possessions to trigger his own 8-0 run and make it a two-point game heading into the second quarter.

The Cavs briefly took the lead in the opening minutes of the second, but the Pacers reassumed control shortly thereafter. Four different players scored for the Blue & Gold during an 11-3 run midway through the frame that pushed the lead back to nine.

The visitors remained in front for the rest of the half, taking a 56-49 lead into the break.

The Cavs, however, came out of halftime with a sense of urgency. The hosts scored the first nine points of the third quarter — six of them coming from James — to retake the lead.

After a three-point play by Turner briefly put the Pacers back in front, Korver knocked down a three on the other end. James subsequently scored the next five points in what wound up being a 19-3 run by the Cavs to start the second half.

"He did a great job of just putting his head down and getting to where he wanted to go," Pacers forward Trevor Booker said of James, who went 14-for-24 from the field and 15-for-15 from the free throw line (13-for-13 in the second half). "I'm not sure what changed (after halftime). That was his game plan from the beginning — get to the basket, draw fouls — and he did a good job."

Cleveland extended its lead to as many as 12 points and outscored Indiana 32-17 in the frame, but a buzzer-beating three by Lance Stephenson made it 81-73 heading into the fourth quarter and opened the door for the Pacers' comeback.

Sabonis led the Pacers with 22 points off the bench on 8-of-12 shooting. Young added 16 points, while Oladipo recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Korver had 19 points off the bench for Cleveland, going 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Kevin Love added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the victors.

The Pacers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for a must-win Game 6 on Friday night at 8:00 PM ET. Despite the heartache from how Game 5 ended, the Blue & Gold remain confident as the series shifts back to Indiana.

"The series ain't over," Oladipo said. "You got to win four games for the series to be over, right? So we got a chance to win on Friday. I don't think anybody is discouraged or upset."

Oladipo, who was a combined 10-for-35 from the field in Games 3 and 4, continued his struggles in Cleveland. He made just 2-of-15 shots overall and was 1-for-7 from 3-point range on Wednesday.

The Pacers had 17 turnovers in the loss, resulting in 20 points on the other end for the Cavaliers. Indiana had seven giveaways in the third quarter alone.

Stephenson added 12 points and four assists off the bench for Indiana.

James topped 40 points for the second time this series (he had 46 in the Cavs' win in Game 2) and the 21st time in his career, moving past Jerry West for second place all time.

Korver is averaging 16.3 points and is 15-for-26 from 3-point range in Cleveland's three wins this series. He has not scored in their two losses, going a combined 0-for-5 from the beyond the arc in Games 1 and 3.

Cleveland won despite poor offensive performances from Love (2-for-11) and JR Smith (scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting from the field and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc).

"I think I got some pretty good looks today. I just feel as though I missed. Credit them. They still did a great job on me, switching out. But I feel like I got pretty good looks, some open looks that I haven’t gotten at all this series. I just missed." -Oladipo on his shooting woes

"I'll take that as far as execution on that last play. We have a timeout to talk about what we see out there and we had a foul to give. We leave here with both of them. Thaddeus had five fouls and was covering LeBron, (a) little hesitant there. We had two things we could've used in that situation that we didn’t and we go home with this foul to give and a timeout." -McMillan on the last possession of the game

"He made a heck of a move — got me leaning right and he went left. I just tried to use my recovery speed and get back up there and make a play for the ball, and I was able to make a play." -James on his controversial block of Oladipo

"I thought we had a good third quarter, finally. We've had leads going into the half the last few games, and third quarters have kind of been our Achilles heel, so it was good to come out motivated and playing hard in the third quarter. I thought guys responded well, and then at the end – what a special finish. It was amazing." -Korver

James' game-winner was the Cavaliers only field goal over the final 7:18 of the game.

The Pacers and Cavaliers will return to Indianapolis for Game 6 on Friday, April 27 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse at 8:00 PM ET. Game 6 will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and locally on FOX Sports Indiana. Find Tickets »

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Game Rewind: Pacers 95, Cavaliers 98 (Game 5)

After taking a two-point lead with 4:28 remaining in the game and coming back from what had been a 16-point first-half deficit, the Pacers' offense went cold in crunch time.

During the next three minutes of play, Cleveland got two threes from Kyle Korver and two buckets from LeBron James, pushing the game out of reach for the Pacers as Indiana fell 104-100 on Sunday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"They made more plays than us," explained Darren Collison after the game. "Korver had some big shots down the stretch. We kind of settled, didn't get the looks that we wanted in the last couple of minutes."

The Cleveland victory — in which LeBron James led the way with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists — tied the first round series at two apiece, sending the back-and-fourth affair to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday.

The Pacers, who trailed most of the evening, outscored the Cavaliers 28-20 in the third quarter, nearly erasing all of their 10-point halftime deficit.

Just 1:11 seconds into the fourth, Indiana took the lead for the first time since the game's opening moments.

Once the Cavs regained a two-point edge on a pair of free throws from Rodney Hood, Lance Stephenson helped ignite the Pacers, assisting Domantas Sabonis on a jumper and drawing a technical foul against James, who sent a forearm into Stephenson's chest after the Cavs had called a timeout.

Following Oladipo's free throw from the tech, the Pacers led 92-89 with 6:12 to play in the game.

On their next possession, James continued to go to work, banking in a jumper over the outstretched arms of Stephenson. But Lance continued to serve as an irritant to James, forcing a jump ball after wresting the ball from James' grasp, then displaying it high above his head for the fans, as if he were holding a trophy.

"No, we're playing hard basketball," said Stephenson when asked whether the series was becoming more chippy. "We're both trying to get a W, and we're going to whatever it takes and they're going to do whatever it takes. We're just having fun out there, playing hard basketball."

But following a free throw from Oladipo that put Indiana up 93-91, the Pacers' offense began to stall as Cleveland's shooting carried it through crunch time. Once Korver connected on his second 3-pointer over the final four minutes, the Cavs had opened up a 99-95 advantage. Following the bucket, LeBron James made a driving layup to extend Cleveland's lead to six with under two minutes left.

From there, the Cavaliers closed out the victory at the free throw line, keeping the game out of reach from the Blue & Gold despite some desperation plays in the final seconds.

Indiana struggled to overcome an off night from its All-Star, Victor Oladipo, who went just 5-of-20 from the field in the loss. The Pacers were led in scoring by Sabonis, who poured in a career-playoff-best 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting off of the bench.

On Cleveland's side of the ball, aside from another impressive performance by James, it was Korver who lit things up. After a slow start to the game, Korver caught fire, making four 3-pointers and finishing his night with 18 points.

Cleveland's usual second option, Kevin Love, dealt with early foul trouble and went just 2-of-10 from the field, ending the evening with five points and 11 rebounds.

During his pregame media availability, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue disclosed that George Hill (back spasms) was unable to suit up. In his place, veteran Jose Calderon got the start for the Cavs.

In another wrinkle for the Cavaliers, Cleveland brought the high-energy Tristan Thompson off of the bench, hoping to bring more physicality to their lineup.

The teams traded buckets to start the evening, with Victor Oladipo tying the game at 16 on a 3-pointer from the corner. But from there, Cleveland began to go on a run, opening up an 8-0 sprint to go up 21-13.

To close the quarter, sharpshooter JR Smith connected from three-quarters court at the buzzer, giving the visitors a 30-24 edge after 12 minutes of play.

During the second quarter, Cleveland started to extend its lead, as Jeff Green converted on a fastbreak layup to open up a 41-28 advantage, forcing a Pacers timeout with 8:53 left in the half.

Indiana got out to the right start out of the stoppage, getting two buckets in a row from Myles Turner — who scored a team-best 12 points in the first half — but Cleveland's offense was relentless, extending its lead to 49-33 on a 3-pointer from Jordan Clarkson.

From there, Indiana went to work, getting the deficit down to a 60-50 Cavs lead at the break following a backdoor feed from Stephenson to Darren Collison to close the half.

For the Cavaliers, LeBron James closed the first half on pace for yet another 46-point outing, racking up 23 points and six rebounds across the first 24 minutes of action.

The Pacers got the crowd involved early and often to start the second half, opening the third quarter on a rollicking 10-2 run to trim the score to 62-60. After Collison got an and-one to fall and Bojan Bogdanovic sank a hesitation shot off the glass, the Cavaliers called timeout just 4:09 into the quarter as Bankers Life Fieldhouse rocked with excitement for the Pacers comeback.

Just as the Pacers closed the gap, a 3-point shooting competition broke out between the two teams. On one side, Bogdanovic canned two from long range, narrowing it to a 70-68 Cavs lead. But for Cleveland, threes from Smith, Calderon, and Korver helped keep the Cavs in front by five as Pacers head coach Nate McMillan signaled for timeout with 5:44 to play in the frantic third quarter.

Following the timeout, Cleveland pushed ahead, extending its lead to eight. But for the Pacers, back-to-back tip-ins by Sabonis closed the gap again, triggering a Cavs timeout with 3:32 left in the quarter.

To close the third, it was all Pacers, as Thad Young sent home the final points on the quarter with a massive one-handed slam to ignite the crowd at The Fieldhouse, bringing the score to an 80-78 Cavs lead and setting up the tight fourth quarter.

But over the final 4:28 of the game, the Cavaliers looked like the team that has been to three consecutive NBA Finals, outscoring the Pacers 13-7 and connecting on two crucial 3-pointers to seal the win.

"It's 0-0 and it's anybody's series right now," said Myles Turner at his locker after the game. "And we've gotta be the hungry team. We've got a road win before, and we gotta go do it again."

After struggling with turnovers early in the series, Indiana committed just nine turnovers on Sunday.

The Pacers outrebounded the Cavs 48-44, including a 12-8 edge on the offensive glass. Thaddeus Young grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, which surpassed his previous postseason career-high of 14.

Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis combined for 36 points on 18-23 shooting.

The teams were nearly identical from 3-point range, with the Pacers making 12-of-33 and the Cavaliers sinking 12-of-34.

"You don't want to keep getting off to slow starts. You don't want to keep putting ourselves in a position where you need to constantly keep climbing back into the game, because it's going to make you pay. The game is going to make you pay." -Darren Collison on slow starts

"Missed some shots I normally make. They did a good job doubling me. Just gotta go back to the drawing board, watch film and get better." -Victor Oladipo

"I thought we were frantic offensively throughout the game and I just didn't think we played the game the right way. I thought there were some quick shots, some heroic shots that were taken throughout this game, and you're not going to win if you play the game like that." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

Although the Pacers only turned it over nine times, the Cavaliers made the mistakes costly for Indiana. Cleveland converted the nine turnovers into 17 points.

The Pacers head to Cleveland with the series tied 2-2 for Game 5 on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM ET. Following Game 5, Indiana returns home for Game 6 on Friday night. Find Tickets »

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Game Rewind: Pacers 100, Cavaliers 104 (Game 4)

With just under four minutes remaining in Game 2, the Pacers were in the midst of yet another frantic comeback — the type of rally that has come to define their 2017-18 season.

But LeBron James, who struggled from the field during Indiana's Game 1 win, put a stop to every Pacers push, scoring a game-high 46 points on 17-of-24 shooting as the Cavaliers knotted the series 1-1 with a 100-97 win at Quicken Loans Arena.

In the fourth quarter, when Indiana inched back within eight points, James responded, drilling back-to-back jumpers and forcing an Indiana timeout.

When Indiana got it down to six with 4:30 remaining, it was James again, calmly nailing a jumper from the corner for his 42nd point of the evening.

But even then, the Pacers showed no quit, getting back-to-back buckets from Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo to make it a 90-86 Cavaliers lead. After a free throw from Cavaliers guard George Hill and a steal-and-score from JR Smith, the Pacers trailed by seven, but a quick 3-pointer from Collison once again tightened the game, keeping the Pacers within four points.

Moments later, Collison struck again from deep, making it a one-possession game with a three from the wing. After George Hill committed an offensive foul, the Pacers got possession with 36.3 seconds left in the game.

The Pacers ended up getting the exact look they wanted on the ensuing play, a wide-open  Oladipo on the wing. But Oladipo's would-be tying shot was wide, as James hauled in his game-high 12th rebound of the night and was quickly fouled by Thad Young.

At the free throw line, James iced the game for the Cavaliers, making both free throws to push Cleveland back ahead by five with 22.2 seconds.

The 46 point performance from James was simply too much for the Pacers to overcome. While Indiana shot an impressive 52.6 percent from the field, the Pacers turned the ball over 17 times on the night, creating ample opportunities for James and company to get out in transition and control the tempo. Aside from James, only two Cavaliers players, Kevin Love and Kyle Korver, reached double figures in scoring.

For the Pacers, Oladipo was once again the primary source of offense, scoring 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting. With Oladipo dealing with foul trouble, Indiana relied on Myles Turner, who made 7-of-12 field goals on the night for an 18-point, five-rebound effort.

In Game 1, the Pacers were the aggressors early on, opening up a lead and holding it for the entire night. But in Game 2, which featured a new-look starting lineup for Cleveland, it was all Cavaliers as James scored the first 16 points for his team while Victor Oladipo picked up two quick fouls, sending him to the bench just one minute into the game.

To change things up, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue slotted the sharpshooting JR Smith and Kyle Korver into the starting lineup, opening up the floor for James to go to work. In the opening minutes, James did just that, orchestrating a punishing 19-3 run to take a commanding first-quarter lead.

With Oladipo sitting for an extended amount of time, Turner took charge on offense for the Pacers, scoring nine first-quarter points. But even with the third-year forward's contributions, the Blue & Gold still trailed 33-18 at the end of the first quarter.

To begin the second quarter, the roles were reversed, with James on the bench while Oladipo commanded the Pacers' offense. Oladipo quickly shifted into gear, flying into paint for a layup, then drilling a 3-pointer to cut the deficit down to 11. Moments later, a pair of makes by Cory Joseph sliced Cleveland's lead down to 38-31 with 6:40 remaining in the half.

However, just as the Pacers got it as close as four, Kevin Love started to go to work for the Cavs. The All-Star forward started with a floater against Domantas Sabonis, then drew a foul against Oladipo — his third of the night — sending Love to the free throw line where he made all three looks.

Love's offensive outburst, coupled with a 3-pointer from Korver ended up pushing the Cavs back up by double digits with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

As the half came to a close, LeBron James once again set the crowd ablaze with a thundering dunk in transition, dropping the Pacers to a 12-point deficit entering the halftime locker room. James — who faced media questions about being passive in the first half during Game 1 — racked up 29 first-half points, 20 of which came in the first quarter alone.

With the third quarter underway, the Cavaliers continued to connect from long range, using 3-pointers from George Hill and Kyle Korver to open up a 68-52 edge.

But Oladipo, playing carefully with three fouls, started to engineer a run for the Pacers, hitting on a pair of free throws and a swooping layup past James. A feed inside to Thad Young from Bojan Bogdanovic got things back down to 10, forcing the Cavs to call a timeout with 6:35 left in the third.

Even after the stoppage, Indiana continued its rally as Oladipo scored again on another acrobatic layup, capping an 11-2 Pacers run to draw within five of the lead.

James, as he had most of the night, had an answer to Indiana's run, hitting a fadeaway jumper from the wing to give the Cavs a 74-67 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers, when entering the fourth quarter with a lead, were a remarkable 39-0 this season. So with the odds stacked against them, the Pacers opened up the final frame on the right note, bringing the score to an 80-76 Cavs lead when Stephenson knifed into the paint for an easy make at the rim.

But at every chance for the Pacers to get their first lead of the night, James stood in the way, putting up one of the best postseason performances of his career to keep the Pacers at arm's length throughout the game and knotting the series in the process.

While the Pacers shot better from the field than the Cavaliers (52.6 to 50.7), Cleveland lit it up from deep, making 11-of-28 threes compared to just 6-of-22 from Indiana.

The Pacers shared the ball more, racking up 22 assists compared to 15 from the Cavs.

LeBron James led his team in points (46), rebounds (12), and assists (5).

With his 46-point effort, LeBron James tied Jerry West at second on the all-time leaderboard with 20 postseason games reaching 40 points or more. Michael Jordan is number one on the list with 38.

“Well, he switched the lineup, but them coming out aggressive was something we expected. We knew that they would come out playing with a sense of urgency with the new lineup or the change in lineup." - Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

“It was just a feel. Coach Lue called the first play for me and it went down, so we went back to it and I was able to get another one. I just felt like I was in a really good rhythm, so just tried to see how long I could stay in that zone and just try to make a mark on the game early on, especially after the way we started in Game 1.” - Cavaliers forward LeBron James

“Obviously, we’re upset about the loss. Just like the first game, it was only one game and this was only one game. We felt as though we had a chance to tie it, a chance to win and we feel confident going home.” - Pacers guard Victor Oladipo

"We really wanted to go home 2-0 but we got one on the road. We did our jobs. I can’t wait to be back in front of the Indy fans. I hope these guys are ready, I know they are.” - Pacers center Myles Turner

With the series knotted at one game apiece, the Pacers return home to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host the Cavaliers in Game 3 of their best-of-seven series on Friday, April 20 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

2017‑18 Game Rewind

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Game Rewind: Pacers 95, Cavaliers 98 (Game 5)

Game Rewind: Pacers 100, Cavaliers 104 (Game 4)

Game Rewind: Pacers 97, Cavaliers 100 (Game 2)

Game Rewind: Pacers 98, Cavaliers 80 (Game 1)

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Game Rewind: Pacers 123, Hornets 117