What a game in Indiana! Despite a 17-point gap at half-time, the Indiana Pacers are not beaten. The hosts beat back and finally win 92:90 (BOXSCORE) against the Cleveland Cavaliers after a crazy final phase. Bojan Bogdanovic hammers LeBron and Co. one threesome after the other.
Cavs coach Ty Lue relied on the top five with Hill, Korver, Smith and Love alongside LeBron James after the successful transition in Game 2. And once again the Cavs got off to the better start, even though it took until the middle of the first quarter for Cleveland to stand out significantly for the first time. Thanks to the strong performance of the supporting cast, the Cavs took a 13-point lead towards the end of round one.
On the other hand, the Pacers’ offense still stuttered in the first half. Victor Oladipo was not really a factor, and the hosts often stood in their own way with numerous ball losses – Bojan Bogdanovic’s hot hand (11 points, 3/5 trio in halftime one) did not help much. Finally, Cleveland extended his lead to 17 points (57:40) by the break, the fans in the Bankers Life Fieldhouse were silenced.
However, this was by no means a preliminary decision. The Pacers came back from the cabin with a much improved defense and aggressive offense and made a comeback. Now Oladipo also had some good actions, the Shooting Guard led his team to a 9:2 run, with which Indiana shortened to 59:66.
For the Cavs, the basket was nailed up during this phase. The guests came in the third quarter on just 12 measly points – they met only 5 of their 19 throws out of the field and made 7 ball losses! Accordingly, the lead shrank to 6 points (69:63 Cavaliers) by the end of the section.
So of course the Pacers fans were on their feet again, whose good mood only improved in the fourth quarter. About eight and a half minutes before the end Indiana had equalized, a little later Indianapolis completely freaked out.
After Bogdanovic was fouled in a successful threesome and then sunk the free-throw, the 29-year-old immediately followed up with the next triple in the next attack: 84:77 lead Pacers, Cav’s time-out!
What Bogdanovic can do, however, LeBron James has been able to do for a long time. The king provided just the right answer and hammered two threes in a row around the ears of the Pacers themselves. Everything was ready for an incredibly exciting final phase (84:83 Indiana).
The first exclamation point was once again Bogdanovic, who brought his team back into the lead with a threesome. Indiana even dropped to 7 points for a short time before LeBron shortened again. James scored 12 points for the Cavs in a row before Kevin Love returned with a corner threesome (91:90 Pacers).
Darren Collison (3 points, 3 assists, 1/7 FG) only pocketed his first free throw, but the Cavs had no more time out. So J.R. Smith sprinted with the spalding in his hand into the opponent’s half, but he didn’t get a good throw anymore and failed at the ring. The Pacers won Game 3 with 92:90!
Without a doubt, the best man was Bogdanovic, who set a personal high for the season with 30 points (11/15 FG, 7/9 trio). Oladipo also contributed 18 counters, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
On the Cavs side, James scored 28 points, 12 rebounds and 8 templates, supported mainly by Love (19 and 6 rebounds) and George Hill (13). However, after the break-in in the second half and the Pacers’ monster comeback, an impressive series ended: Cleveland had to accept the first defeat of the season after the team had a lead at the beginning of the final section (previously: 40-0).
In addition, the Cavs are now down 2-1 in the series against the Pacers. Game 4 also takes place in Indiana during the night from Sunday to Monday.
Indiana Pacers v Cleveland Cavaliers 92:90, series 2:1 (BOXSCORE)
Bojan Bogdanovic. Not to mention his scoring: Bogdanovic stood his man against LeBron James in the defense in almost every situation. Thus he prepared a generally difficult evening for the King. At the other end of the field he led his team to victory with his deadly threesome.
Kyle Korver. After his good performance in game 2, the sniper was a complete disappointment this time. Korver didn’t radiate any danger from a distance (0/3 trio), and he wasn’t necessarily convincing defensively either.
The most important factor in this game was the defense. At half-time one, the Cavaliers convinced with aggressive traps against Oladipo, with whom they virtually took the star of the Pacers out of play. After the change of sides, however, the game revolved. Now it was the hosts who made life extremely difficult for the Cavs with their high intensity. Indiana made the guests work hard for every roll of the dice, which was evident in the Cavs’ scoring (only 33 points in the second half).