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Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 1 Live Updates, Score and Highlights for 2018 NBA Playoffs
Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland, OH
Follow live coverage as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers begin their quest to make it to their fourth straight NBA Finals when they host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their first round Eastern Conference playoff matchup on Sunday afternoon. The Cavaliers finished the season with a record of 50-32 while the Pacers went 48-34. Indiana and Cleveland met four times during the regular season, with the Pacers taking three of the four matchups. The Cavs won the most recent battle, earning a 115-108 victory all the way back on Jan. 26. James and Co. ended the season on a strong note, winning 11 of their final 14 contests. You can catch all of the action at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and be sure to keep it right here for live coverage throughout the game.
Go inside the numbers in the first round matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series on Sunday.
When: 3:30 p.m.
TV: ABC
Radio: WTAM 1100 AM, La Mega 87.7 FM.
Online: Watch ESPN app
Last meeting: The Cavs won 115-108 on Jan. 26.
Cavs minute: They lost three of four to the Pacers this season, but all the games were prior to Feb. 8, when the Cavs traded six players. ... This is the first playoff game for Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic. ... It's not the first playoff game for LeBron James. He's 48-7 lifetime in first-round playoff games, with 21 consecutive wins. His teams have never lost a first-round series, and he's averaging 29.0 ppg in first round games. ... The Cavs went 39-0 in games they led heading into the fourth quarter this season, the only undefeated team in those situations this season and the first to do it since 1954-55. James, of course, was second in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring and led the league in clutch scoring. ... This will be Cleveland's first game with all its players healthy and available since the Feb. 8th trades.
Pacers minute: Indiana has a new, um, backcourt since being swept by the Cavs in the first round last year. Darren Collison is in at point guard, replacing Jeff Teague. Then there's Victor Oladipo, the new start of the franchise who came in the trade for Paul George. Oladipo averaged 25 points and Collison 18 against the Cavs this season. ... Indiana shot .462 from 3-point range against Cleveland (54-of-117). The Cavs shot .275 from 3 against the Pacers (38-of-138). Keep an eye on this, as the Pacers were fifth in the NBA in defending 3s this season. Cavs are sixth in the league in shooting them.
See Cavs stats
See Pacers stats
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers' slogan for the 2018 playoffs is "Whatever it Takes."
Well, it's gonna take more than that.
LeBron James had his 21-game winning streak in the first round snapped and lost a playoffs opener for the first time in the Indiana Pacers' 98-80 victory Sunday.
"I've never lost a game in the first round before in my career?" asked James, who posted his 20th playoff triple double with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists.
"At the end of the day, they came in and they dictated the tempo."
Counting the regular season, 80 points is the Cavs' second-lowest total this year.
The Pacers, behind 32 points from Victor Oladipo, did much more than make sure they would not be swept out of a first-series two years in a row by the Cavs. They put James in a situation he's never seen before: down 0-1 in the first round. He was 12-0 in his first dozen postseason openers.
"We're fully aware of LeBron, we're fully aware of his team and we realize it's not going to be easy, but that doesn't mean we're just going to come in here and just fold," Oladipo said. "We planning on winning. That's why we came to this series. That's why we came to play this game is to win, not just to come here and just be OK."
James logged 44 minutes and shot 7-of-17 with three turnovers. He was 10-of-14 from the foul line.
James' last loss in a first-round game was May 6, 2012, in Game 4 of the Miami-New York series. He's never lost a first-round series.
The Cavs meanwhile, started the last two playoffs 10-0.
"I mean, I'm down 0-1 in the first round," James said. "I was down 3-1 in the (2016) Finals. So, I'm the last guy to ask about how you're going to feel the next couple days."
James passed Michael Jordan (2,188 field goals) for second place in NBA playoff history for baskets, and became the third player in history with at least 1,500 playoff assists.
JR Smith was great off the bench with 15 points and Larry Nance Jr., in his first playoff game, added 10 rebounds and five assists.
So many Cavs suffered through bad games. Jeff Green was miserable. He was shut out on 0-of-7 shooting. Kevin Love finished with 17 rebounds to go with nine points, but shot 3-of-8 and didn't score until there was 1:53 left in the first half.
Kyle Korver, battling a sore foot, was 0-of-3 with a turnover in four minutes. Jordan Clarkson, in his first playoff game, contributed six points on 2-of-6 shooting.
"I just think you can't ease into the playoffs," coach Tyronn Lue said. "I thought they came in and they attacked us, hit us first and we were never able to recover. You can't ease into the game."
Oladipo wasn't with Indiana the last time these two teams met in the playoffs last season. The Pacers traded Paul George to Oklahoma City for him and Domantas Sabonis, instead of doing a three-team trade in which George would've come to Cleveland.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said last summer "that Indiana could've done better than it did."
Sure didn't look like it Sunday. Oladipo was 11-of-19 from the field with six 3s, setting a career high for playoff points.
"You could say it added fuel to the fire, I guess you could say," Oladipo said. "But that was so long ago. It came up recently, obviously, because we were playing the Cavs in the series, but I'm aware of what he said. Can't control his opinion. All I'm focused on is myself and becoming the best Victor Oladipo possible."
Myles Turner added 16 points and seven rebounds.
This one was only briefly close. Cleveland trailed 33-14 after a quarter, by 17 at halftime, by as many as 21 in the third quarter, but trailed by just eight after three quarters and was down 76-69 with 10:28 left. Oladipo shut down the Cavs' comeback with 10 fourth-quarter points.
The Cavs coughed up 20 points off 17 turnovers and was 8-of-34 from 3-point range.
The Pacers led by as many as 21 in the first quarter. James and Love combined for two points -- they belonged to James, on two free throws with 1:52 left. James' first official shot came with 1:24 left in the opening period -- an errant 3.
Love and Korver were a combined 0-of-6. The Cavs missed all eight 3s. They committed seven turnovers. You get the idea.
NEXT: Game 2 of this first-round series is at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Cleveland.
