Indiana Pacers Rout LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love couldn’t stop Paul George and the rest of the Indiana Pacers from going on a 3-point spree.

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have the services of a resting LeBron James, and it showed in the first lopsided game this season between them and Indiana Pacers. After the other meetings were decided by 5 points or less, Indiana won 123-109 thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers.

As a team, the Pacers were 16 of 31 (51.6%) from beyond the arc to go along with 45 of 80 (56.2%) from the field. While Paul George making 4 of 9 attempts from deep and C.J. Miles making 6 of his 8 aren’t surprising, Solomon Hill making 3 of 4 of his 3-point attempts were an indication that the Pacers were shooting well above normal. Monta Ellis, George Hill, and Rodney Stuckey all made one 3-point attempt each as well.

After the game, Paul George said this was the most confident the team had been in a while, and that while the Cavaliers still had plenty of defenders to throw at the Pacers, it wasn’t the same as having LeBron James covering him.

The high point total hides the fact the game actually had a slower pace than the Pacers are used to, and even slower than what the Cavaliers are used to as well.

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Most Pacers games have nearly 100 possessions in them on average, but it slowed down to 91.3 on Wednesday. However, with both teams making around 50% of their shots, the points were coming fast and easy for both teams. In fact, the Pacers 70 first-half points were a season-high for Indiana, something that happens when you make 61.9% of your shots in the first half.

All this may needs tempered by the fact LeBron was resting, but it isn’t as if Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love aren’t all-star quality players either. It is only the regular season anyway, but if the Pacers are wanting to carry some momentum forward with them and into the playoffs, the win against Cleveland is a good place to start.

Data curated by PointAfter

The Pacers hit the road and head north to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors in a possible playoff preview on Friday. The Pacers and the Detroit Pistons both hold a 3-game lead over the Chicago Bulls in the standings, but Indiana holds the tie-breaker, making them the seventh seed if the playoffs started today.