The Cavaliers are just one win away from advancing after Game 3’s 119-114 win. Though Games 1 and 2 were a lot closer than what everyone is expecting, a sweep is very likely since they’ve pretty much taken the air out of the Pacers after yesterday’s 26-point, second-half comeback. They outscored Indy in the last two quarters, 70-40.
There’s concern as to why they were down by that much to a team that’s barely above .500, but there’s still a ton of time to make adjustments.
LeBron James had a performance for the ages, as he powered the comeback by scoring 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists, with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love sitting out the final period.
We can expect the defending champs to close the series out on Saturday. James probably won’t need to fill the stat sheet like that again, and Irving and Love should be able to see heavy minutes this time.
Cleveland is 6-1 against the Pacers this season (regular season and playoffs), scoring 116.8 PPG.
With the first two games being just one or two plays away from victory, the Pacers were very optimistic when the series headed to their home floor. So now that they did play at home, had a big lead, and then squandered it to be in a deep 0-3 hole, what’s next?
Probably a first-round exit, followed by Paul George bolting for the Los Angeles Lakers.
In all seriousness, though, Indy is in a tough position. The inexperience in the postseason is showing, as evidenced by George (32.3 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 7.7 APG) and Jeff Teague (17.7 PPG, 5.0 APG), two of the most playoff-tested players on the roster, becoming the most productive on both ends.
Lance Stephenson is getting 14 PPG in only 25.7 minutes of action, but he’s a sure wildcard that can have the craziest antics in a snap. Promising big man Myles Turner, meanwhile, has been very underwhelming – 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds on an appalling 32.4 percent shooting in the series.
The Pacers, as we’ve indicated, have lost five of the six meetings with the Cavs this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cavs (-3) win a close one and will fail to cover the spread, 114-112.
