The Cavs were met with a tough first round matchup and they met the Pacers head on. Cleveland overcame Indiana’s late-game surges in all four games, handled an extremely effective Paul George along with a rising star in Myles Turner. They did this all while completing the first four-game sweep in the Pacers’ franchise history. This isn’t unexpected though if you consider how Cleveland steps up their game up come playoff time. The Cavs now have a full week of rest as they prepare to face either the Raptors or Bucks.
Today, LeBron broke the record for the most consecutive first round playoff games won with 21, surpassing a three-way tie for 20 wins amongst Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper. LeBron also became the first player to average at least 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in a first-round series and the fourth player (Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Ben Wallace) to average at least 3 steals and 2 blocks in a first-round series. For the last record he broke today, he surpassed Tim Duncan for the most series sweeps in a playoff career with ten. For the series, LeBron averaged 32.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks per game on 55% shooting from the field and 45% shooting from beyond the arc.
LeBron was the player of the game today. He finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Kyrie had a rough first half but he made up for it by scoring 16 points in the 3rd quarter as Cleveland had as big as a thirteen point lead. Lance Stephenson led the Pacers in scoring with 22 points. George had his lowest points in a game for the series with 15.
The Pacers went on a 7-0 run early in the 4th quarter when they were previously down 96-83. They continued to chip at the lead and then when the final three minutes approached, Thaddeus Young made a shot to tie the game at 100. Then he proceeded to make a tip-in layup to take a 102-100 lead.
LeBron told the media after the game,
”They were giving it all they had. Obviously, a loss would have ended their season. We just had to weather the storm once again.”
After a timeout, LeBron responded with a pull-up three to go up 103-102. Indiana missed a go-ahead shot and then intentionally fouled Korver. He made both free throws and Paul George missed what would’ve been a game-tying three-pointer. This miss put Paul George at 0/16 on potential game winners in the regular and postseason combined for his career. Indiana then fouled LeBron and he went 1/2 from the line to seal their victory with a final score of 106-102.
The Cavs improved to 8-0 after taking a 3-0 series lead and LeBron improved to 52-0 in his playoff career when his team has a 10+ point lead in the 4th quarter.
The Pacers lost the series by a total of 16 points, which ties the smallest margin of victory in a four-game sweep in NBA history. They have also lost five straight playoff games as well as six of their last eight.
When asked about facing LeBron in the playoffs, George responded by saying the following.
”It’s real frustrating to continue on losing to the same team or same person.” ”Ultimately, he is who I’m always going to have to see and face.”
