Big 3 combine for 89 points, carry Cavs to Game 2 win over Pacers
CLEVELAND — The Indiana Pacers spent the last day and a half calling Monday night’s Game 2 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers a must-win.
LeBron James’ all-around dominance coupled with Kevin Love’s second-half surge ensured the Pacers came away empty handed. Kyrie Irving, who finished with a game high 37, wasn’t bad, either, and the Cavs won 117-111 to take a 2-0 series lead.
The Cavs were up 15 with 6:09 left but nearly squandered another lead when the Pacers cut it to four with 19 seconds left. A late layup from Irving and a huge swat from James helped seal the victory.
James poured in 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Love scored 27 points on just seven shots from the field. He hit all 12 of his free throws and missed just one of his four three-point attempts.
It was the first time that the Big 3 of James, Love and Irving all scored 25-plus points in a playoff game together.
As a team the Cavs made 16-of-19 free throws after shooting 14-of-27 from the stripe in Game 1.
Irving had his fair share of highlights, but none was more demoralizing than a three-pointer in Lance Stephenson’s face to end the third quarter. It was one of 13 triples for Cleveland. Irving followed it up with a few words at Stephenson, but it gave the Cavs an 18-point cushion.
That buffer was largely built by Love, who at one point scored 10 straight in the third quarter and drew a charge during the game’s defining sequence. The Cavs also finally buckled down on defense and held the Pacers to just 20 points in that stanza.
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With the win, the Cavs improved to 15-1 at home in the playoffs against Eastern Conference opponents since 2015.
J.R. Smith suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out to start the second half. That gave Cavs guard Iman Shumpert his first playing time of the series. Almost immediately Shumpert buried a corner triple and several possessions later he scrapped with Paul George on the floor, forcing a jump ball.
That sort of effort was sorely needed as the Cavs lost all the hustle points – second chance, fastbreak and points off turnovers — in Game 1.
The Cavs threatened to pull away in the second quarter. James had 11 points, three assists and three rebounds, dictating the majority of Cavalier possessions. He would either force the issue, barreling through the lane for an easy finish or dish it the perimeter after the Pacers’ defense had collapsed.
Both were equally successful. At one point the Cavaliers were shooting 60% from the three-point line with Deron Williams and Love doing most of the damage from deep.
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The Cavs were up 13 with 5:31 left in the first half before the Pacers cut the deficit to 63-58 at halftime.
Stephenson, one of the Pacers who had deemed Game 2 a must-win, continued his strong surge off the bench with several aggressive finishes on the offensive end. Stephenson hit three baskets in under a minute, eliciting boos from the home crowd. He finished the game with 13 points, four assists and two steals.
Both stars, George and James, exploited switches to their full advantage in the early going. George, who finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, hammered a dunk in the lane after Irving had picked him up, and James didn’t hesitate during a momentary miscommunication on the Pacers’ end and finished hard with an open two-handed jam.
The Cavs shot 57 percent from the field in the first quarter and buried five-of-seven triples but managed just a 34-29 advantage. Love had 10 points and seven boards – three more rebounds than he managed throughout all of Game 1 – and James provided the fireworks with a soaring breakaway slam with 2:50 remaining in the quarter.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Michael Singer on Twitter @MSinger
