Cavs to rest LeBron in 2nd game of back-to-back

While the Warriors celebrated a hard-earned win, Cleveland were given a reminder of how hard life can be without LeBron James after they went down 103-93 to the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

A slow start to the third quarter saw IN score the first seven points, though Cleveland was able to get the margin down to four at 66-62 with 4:23 left. So can J.R. Smith, who’s missed the last three games.

The Raptors’ bulldog bellwether rose to the occasion of his matchup with Irving, turning in his best game of the season with 28 points on 11-for-23 shooting with nine assists, five rebounds, four steals and just one turnover in 40 minutes on the ball. “When our guys got the news he was not playing, my concern was a letdown”.

The fan, of course, was there to cheer on the world champion Cavs and their finals MVP, LeBron James. “Tonight, the key was simply to take care of business, even it LeBron is not in uniform”. Kevin Love tossed in 16 of his 19 points in the first half for Cleveland, while Brampton’s Tristan Thompson scored 15, missing only one of eight field goal attempts and added 11 rebounds.

Love and Irving combined for 51 points, yet the Pacers held every other Cavalier under double figures.

“At least we get to sleep in”, said one Raptor hopefully. The Raptors got 29 points and nine assists from Kyle Lowry, and following a 20-7 fourth quarter run the Raptors had a seven-point lead in the fourth.

“Let’s not get it misconstrued here”, Young said. “We also did a good job of putting Kyrie in some tough-shot situations. We had some good looks and we came out with an aggressive mindset”, Irving said. We’re starting to trust each other from the standpoint of, when a guy tells someone to be in a spot, they’re getting in that spot now. Love scored a season-high 27 points in James’ absence and tied a season’s best with 16 rebounds.

With Aaron Brooks scoring the Pacers’ final five third-quarter points, IN seized an 80-68 lead. He had six assists in the fourth quarter alone.

Grabs his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan had his ninth 30-plus point game in the Raps first 11 contests, finishing with 34 and going a ideal 17-for-17 from the line.

PG – Jeff Teague / SG – Monta Ellis / SF – Paul George / PF – Thaddeus Young / C – Myles Turner.

The Cavaliers enjoyed a 26-19 rebounding advantage during the first 24 minutes.

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said?

“We can win games without LeBron”, Lue said.

Many will be looking at the game against the Indiana Pacers watching whether the decision to sit James in a crucial game is a good decision. The Pacers would still be without Rodney Stuckey who would still be out indefinitely due to injury. The Pacers may not have given up the lead, but that wasn’t for a lack of trying on Cleveland’s behalf.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and Channing Frye drained a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left to put the Cavs ahead by one. James continued to orchestrate the offense, helping the Cavaliers hit on an 8-0 run near the end of the third quarter. Moreover, until it defeated Orlando on Monday, the Pacers hadn’t yet proven they could consistently beat any team regardless of their talent level. Teams will only be able to carry 15 on the National Basketball Association roster (and three of them need to be inactive for a game), but the other three will be in the D-League and can be called up at any point.