When LeBron James took a seat on Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers took a step forward.
With the four-time MVP resting from the Cavaliers lineup, the Pacers got their offense on track, their defense in sync and proved they could finally close out a game. Paul George scored 29 points, while C.J. Miles added 21 as Indiana made 16 three-pointers to pull away from Cleveland 123-109.
“Even without LeBron, they still have two All-Stars out there,” Solomon Hill said after scoring a season-high 15 points. “They’re going to shoot the ball, execute their plays and it’s a team we could see in the playoffs. [Every win] is a building block.”
Photo: AFP
This one certainly helped.
By winning their third in a row, the Pacers stayed 0.5 games ahead of eighth-placed Detroit in the conference standings and pulled three games ahead of idle Chicago, who are trying to move out of the No. 9 slot and into one of the final two playoff places.
Without James, the Cavs did not look like the best team in the conference.
Photo: AP
One night after making 18 three-pointers, they were a dreadful eight of 29 beyond the arc and were outscored inside the paint, on second-chance points and even on fast breaks.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 26 points and six assists, while Kevin Love had 23 points and five rebounds.
In other games, it was:
‧ Hornets 111, Knicks 97
‧ Wizards 121, Nets 103
‧ Celtics 104, Pelicans 97
‧ Pistons 108, Magic 104
‧ Mavericks 88, Rockets 86
‧ Trail Blazers 120, Thunder 115
‧ Clippers 91, Lakers 81
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