Today will mark the first matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers in their Playoffs series. Each team is looking to start the series off right as they go against each other in the Quicken Loans Arena. This will also mark the first time since 1998 that the Cavaliers and the Pacers will battle in a Playoff series. The Cavaliers would lose to the Indiana Pacers in the first round, 1-3, back in that 1998 series. With that being done, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to get their revenge against this Indiana team.
In the first quarter, Kevin Love would start off hot as shoots 100% from the field, putting up ten points, including two 3-pointers. Kyrie Irving would also come through with eight points and four assists. Even though LeBron James was limited to four points, the home team would end the first quarter with a 34-29 lead. In the first quarter, Paul George would only score six points but he would heat up in the second quarter as he earns himself ten more points, including two 3-pointers. LeBron James would match it with ten points of his own, but would not attempt a three-pointer. Former Bulls player, Aaron Brooks, would come off the bench and score five points as he looks to help his current team cut into the lead. Kyrie Irving would help LeBron out as he puts up seven points, including one 3-pointer. Kevin Love and Channing Frye would score five points as the defending champions would enter the halftime with a 66-59 advantage.
The Cavaliers showed no signs of cooling down as LeBron James scores ten points in the third quarter, which would include two 3-pointers. He would shoot 71% from the field as Irving contributes by adding six points to the team’s total. The first-round pick in the 2005 draft, Channing Frye, would come off the bench to knock down a 3-pointer. On the other end, four-time All-Star Paul George would collect nine points, which would contain one 3-pointer but it would be the Cleveland Cavaliers who enter the fourth quarter with a 92 to 84 lead. The Indiana Pacers would go on a 24-17 run in the fourth quarter as Lance Stephenson would come off the bench to collect eight points and grab four rebounds. Former Atlanta Hawks player, Jeff Teague, would chalk up six points, including two 3-pointers. With only a minute left in the last period, the Pacers would trail the Cavaliers by only five points. Paul George would successfully knock down a 28-foot 3-pointer with only forty seconds left. LeBron would try to match it with a 3-pointer of his own but misses as Stephenson gets the rebound.
After a Pacers timeout, CJ Miles would attempt a jumper to win the game but misses as the Cavaliers would sneak away with a 109 to 108 win, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. LeBron James would finish with thirty-two points, six rebounds and thirteen assists. Paul George would finish with twenty-nine points, five rebounds and seven assists.