Insider: Bankers Life Fieldhouse becomes James' house
INDIANAPOLIS – The door was closed, but you could hear the screams of celebration coming from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room Thursday night, minutes after they had stunned the Indiana Pacers.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse became LeBron James’ house. Helping the Cavaliers erase a 26-point first-half deficit, James finished with a triple-double — 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists — leading the Cavaliers to a 119-114 victory that was inspiring for Cleveland and crushing for the Pacers.
The victory gave Cleveland a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series, and this was a punch in the stomach for the Pacers. Is there anyone who thinks the Pacers will recover from this? The Cavaliers will be looking for a sweep in Game 4 on Sunday, while the Pacers will be looking for their pride.
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Meanwhile, James can savor another virtuoso performance that displayed his immense talents. He hurt the Pacers in almost every possible way, making pinpoint passes, grabbing crucial rebounds and hammering thunderous dunks. However, James’ biggest weapon in the second half was his 3-point shooting. He made 6-of-12 from long distance, some of them very long. On a Cavaliers team loaded with great shooters, James was the king of 3s in Game 3.
“I just want to get better every year,” James said afterward. “I just don’t settle for not being able to do something. Just putting the work in, understanding that I’m not the best shooter on the team when it comes to 3-pointers. I just try to keep the defense off balance.”
Off balance? The Pacers may not have much resistance left, not after letting this game get away. It looked extremely bleak for the Cavaliers at halftime trailing, 74-49, with the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse going crazy. But the Cavaliers have a champions’ mentality, and they have James. Surrendering at halftime of a playoff game is not in their DNA. Instead, they pulled off the biggest comeback at halftime in NBA playoffs history.
“We knew we had to take one of their punches, but they hit us with a flurry,” said James. “We got our composure we got some stops, and the momentum changed for us.”
The comeback was more unfathomable because the Cavaliers did it with two of their Big Three — Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love — on the bench in the fourth quarter. James was on the floor much of the fourth quarter with four bench players: Iman Shumpert, Deron Williams, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye. But with James attacking the basket and the Cavaliers’ shooters spreading the floor, the Pacers fell apart defensively and James showed no mercy.
“This was why the team was built this way,” said James. “It’s been a challenge because of the injuries. Our bench got a game ball tonight. Those guys came in and gave us huge minutes.”
The Cavaliers didn’t play well late in the regular season, but a victory like this will do wonders for their psyche.
“A lot of people questioned our chemistry and what we can and cannot do,” Frye said after the locker room had opened. “It showed we can get down by 26 points, but it takes a special team to come back from that. We don’t want to put ourselves in that position, but we know the level we played in the second half is what we need for 48 minutes.
“I’m not going to say I was never worried. But I know we have different levels. We reached a different level today. Hopefully we sustain it build off it. Our communication in the second half was great, especially against Paul George, who’s a phenomenal player.”
Asked if it was difficult to bench Irving and Love in the fourth quarter, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said, “Every decision you make in the playoffs is difficult. Looking at Kyrie, looking at Kevin, they were like, ‘Let them go.’ Kevin and Kyrie didn’t have a problem with it at all. That’s what playoff basketball is all about. Guys step up. It was just a great team win for us.”
However, it would not have happened without James, who played the entire second half and took over the game. At halftime, the Pacers looked destined to get their first win of the series, snap James' 19-game first-round winning streak and make Sunday an opportunity to pull even. Now the Pacers face a weekend of misery waiting for Game 4, which will be the final game of their season unless they win.
How quickly things change. The Pacers left the door open, lost their aggressiveness and James made them pay dearly.
“LeBron willed us home,” Lue said. “We knew the important of this game. If they win tonight, we knew it would make it a series. Going up 3-0, it makes it a lot more difficult for those guys.”
Follow IndyStar reporter Clifton Brown on Twitter: @CliftonGBrown.
