Cleveland ‘lucky’ to beat Pacers, James says after 100-97 win

Collecting a double-double on the night, James’ 46 points came on 17-of-24 from the field, with 12 rebounds and five assists also playing a key role in the win.

Dazzling by the start, ” James had 29 in half time, dominating at the way he has in so many previous postseasons and scored rsquo & Cleveland; s first 16 points. They nearly did, but the Cavs hung on and won, 100-97.

The result at least gives the Cavaliers hope as they head to Indianapolis for Game Three on Friday and Game Four on Sunday. That was a sign, a clear indication that the Indiana Pacers’ series-opening blowout victory got his attention.

The Pacers are doing this because they aren’t woefully overmatched by the Cavaliers.

Game 3 of the series is in IN on Friday.

Game 2 predictably featured Apex LeBron, but it unpredictably didn’t produce a convincing win. If the Pacers aren’t exactly now favorites to win the series, they’re very much in it, which is a minor surprise.

Let’s start with defending LeBron.

Well, there might be a fifth rule of life to live by, at least in National Basketball Association circles: one should not question the effort and aggressiveness of Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James because an angry LeBron is a very, very productive LeBron.

With that spread look, the Pacers made a decision to initially change their main defender on LeBron. The “97 Bulls lost Game 2 of their second round matchup with the Hawks, traveled to Atlanta, and won decisively 100-80”. After halftime on Wednesday, the Pacers then put Bojan back on LeBron. The others are Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and James. IN has to be more connected defensively with the Cavs finding a better rhythm from 3 on Wednesday night.

The Cavs caught a break with Oladipo.

“Take nothing away from what he’s done, but he had 46 points and we lost by three”, Thaddeus Young said. Gerald Green came off the bench to add 22 for the Rockets, who trailed early before Green nailed four 3-pointers in Houston’s 37-point second quarter. With Cleveland blitzing and crowding virtually every screen involving Oladipo, they allowed a whopping 62 points in the paint on Wednesday.

It wasn’t just the Cavs’ 18-point defeat, but how James looked. “I saw the replay, too”.

“I need to see more out of a lot of guys”, Lue said after the game, via ESPN. “We gotta be ready to play because we know it’s gonna be in a hostile environment”. “We didn’t do a good job tonight of keeping the ball in front of us”. But that’s a concern for the summer ahead, a happy thought to keep in your back pocket if you’re an in fan. IN turns the ball over less than their counterpart, which limits the Cavaliers chances to put up a shot.