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

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.

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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 »