Cleveland led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but 11 turnovers in the first two periods allowed the Pacers to stay in the game, and the Cavaliers led by just five heading into break. "One thing I do know is that we had a huge halftime deficit and were able to come back and win the game". James, Kyrie Irving (37 points) and Kevin Love (27 points), combined for the most points they've ever had in a postseason game together (89 points). And then they held the Pacers to 40 points in the second half.
But Cleveland starting guard J.R. Smith may miss the game with a hamstring injury that kept him out of Game 2, possibly presenting an opportunity for IN superstar Paul George to exploit a defensive mismatch.
Smith is listed as questionable for Game 3 on Thursday night at Indianapolis as the Cavaliers look to take a 3-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers. Another historic win for the Cavs organization.
George, who had just four points in the decisive third period, led in with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Jeff Teague, who was getting X-rays on his right wrist after the game, had 23 points.
If Smith can't go in Game 3, the Cavs will likely start Shumpert, who did a nice job harassing George during the third quarter when the Cavs took control and opened a 19-point lead. This is a bad, bad loss for the Pacers.
Although the Cavaliers knocked down only three of their nine attempts from three-point range in the quarter, point guard Kyrie Irving hit a heavily-defended step-back triple from the top of the key as the clock was winding down and put the lead back up to 18 heading into the final frame.
US, Canada and Mexico announce joint bid for World Cup 2026
The World Cup has taken place in Mexico twice - in 1970 and 1986 - while the United States was the venue for the 1994 edition. At the minute, the plan is the U.S. will host 60 games and 10 games each will be played in Mexico and Canada .
Teague injured his right wrist in the second half and coach Nate McMillan said the starting guard will undergo X-rays.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 18 points.
"We just never quit", coach Tyronn Lue said. The Pacers shot 66.7 percent in the first quarter, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. "In the first two quarters, we built a lead". Cleveland ultimately won by a score of 119-114 to go up 3-0 in the series. The Pacers were 10 of 17 on three-point shots at halftime. "That's the mentality", swingman C.J.
The Cavs vowed they would play better after their near-disaster in Game 1 and they mostly backed up their talk, delivering the kind of performance that was routine last season but rare in 2017. Lance Stephenson had 13 points.
The Pacers spend so much of their energy trying to catch up after their lackluster play for most of the game that by the time they were in striking distance of Cleveland the Pacers were exhausted. Cleveland is 9-2 in its past 11 games in IN, including 3-1 regular-season records in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017.
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