Pacers vs. Cavaliers: Game 3 Live Updates, Score and Analysis for 2017 NBA Playoffs
Cleveland Cavaliersvs
Indiana Pacers
LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-114 win against the Indiana Pacers after being down 25 points at halftime to take a 3-0 series lead in their first-round playoff matchup. All game, it was an intense individual matchup between James (41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists) and Paul George of the Pacers (36 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists). However, much more of James' highlights came in the second half, while George did a lot of damage before the intermission. Indiana's offense sputtered after the halftime break, mustering just 40 points on 13-of-52 shooting. Also notable was the fact that Cleveland's final push in the fourth quarter came with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on the bench, as the Cavs went with a more defensive-minded lineup. Indiana was unable to turn a 52-40 rebounding edge into a win, however, as it missed far too many shots at the rim.
- April 21, 2017
Cavs 119, Pacers 114 — Final
- Invalid Date
- April 21, 2017
Cavs 115, Pacers 111 — 36.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter
LeBron is about to win his 20th straight first-round game. Insanity.
Cavs 115, Pacers 109 — 47.9 Seconds Left in the Fourth Quarter
That's 27-5-7 now after making a free throw.
Cavs 114, Pacers 107 — 54.8 Seconds Left in the Fourth Quarter
Channing Frye just delivered the shot of the game, and it looks like the Cavs are somehow going to escape with a 3-0 lead.
Cavs 111, Pacers 107 — 1:!6 left in the fourth quarter
A key replay here will give the Cavs the ball, but PG-13 got fouled. Tough break for Indy.
Cavs 111, Pacers 107 — 2:31 Left in the Fourth Quarter
LeBron may be just 5-of-10 from the free-throw line, but he's 6-of-11 from three and 14-of-25 overall. His overall line is nuts: 39 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. The Cavs are plus-10 in the minutes he's played, and minus-six in the three minutes he hasn't.
Cavs 111, Pacers 107 — 2:50 Left in the Fourth Quarter
This seems to be a factor in Tyronn Lue playing him over Kyrie tonight.
Pacers 104, Cavs 103 — 4:55 Left in the Fourth Quarter
Indy needs to remember how important off-ball movement is to its offense. The Pacers went away from that too much in letting the Cavs come back.
Pacers 104, Cavs 103 — 4:55 Left in the Fourth Quarter
Not the worst idea, actually. You hate to let LeBron get an and-one.
Pacers 101, Cavs 100 — 5:57 Left in the Fourth Quarter
LeBron James has taken over this game in the second half. He's at 34 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists now.
Pacers 98, Cavs 96 — 7:16 left in the fourth quarter
The Pacers' shooters continue to struggle. They are now 7-of-35 (20 percent) from the field in the second half. Paul George is 1-of-7.
Pacers 98, Cavs 94 — 8:36 Left in the Fourth Quarter
This is especially egregious with Jeff Teague still on the bench with only 25 minutes played tonight. Of course, Monta Ellis hits a jumper as I type this.
Pacers 96, Cavs 91 — 9:24 Left in the Fourth Quarter
Something tells me the Pacers will lose this game if they continue to shoot at this clip.
Pacers 96, Cavs 91 — 9:24 Left in the Fourth Quarter
Let's see if Myles Turner can get back to his first-half impact in the fourth quarter (he hasn't entered in the game yet). He hasn't scored since the first half.
Pacers 96, Cavs 88 — 10:10 Left in the Fourth Quarter
The Cavs will need some magic from Love and Irving if they want to come back and win this one. They are a combined 8-of-29 shooting for 26 points tonight. They're relying on LeBron heavily so far.
Pacers 93, Cavs 86 — 11:10 left in the fourth quarter
And there's PG-13's first bucket of the second half! That has to feel good. He'll now get three free throws on a foul by Shumpert.
Pacers 91, Cavs 84 — End of Third Quarter
Following a 21-point second quarter, Paul George had zero points on 0-of-5 shooting in the third quarter. Superstars just can't be that inconsistent—we'll see how PG-13 responds.
Pacers 91, Cavs 84 — End of Third Quarter
Pacers 91, Cavs 84 — End of Third Quarter
Pacers 91, Cavs 84 — 13.0 seconds left in the third quarter
Four fouls on LeBron James, who was on fire from the field. We'll see how Tyronn Lue manages his minutes here.
Pacers 87, Cavs 81 — 40.6 Seconds Left in the Third Quarter
LeBron James has outscored Paul George 10-0 in the third quarter. PG-13 is 0-of-5 from the field. This is getting scary for Indy.
Pacers 87, Cavs 78 — 1:19 Left in the Third Quarter
He was at 75 percent three seasons ago. Since the beginning of March, he's hovered in the low 60s.
Pacers 87, Cavs 77 — 2:11 left in the third quarter
Momentum is a fragile thing. Cleveland has now scored 10 points in a row, led by LeBron James, and Indiana's offense is out of sorts.
Pacers 87, Cavs 67 — 4:17 Left in the Third Quarter
Pacers 87, Cavs 67 — 4:36 left in the third quarter
Sometimes, technical fouls can ignite your team and crowd, and I think we're seeing that with the Pacers right now. Nate McMillan got a technical for arguing a non-call on Paul George, and his squad responded with a quick 6-0 run to force a Cavs timeout.
Pacers 87, Cavs 67 — 4:36 Left in the Third Quarter
It's just nuts how much better he plays in Indiana than anywhere else in the NBA. The guy has 11 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes tonight.
Pacers 84, Cavs 67 — 4:46 Left in the Third Quarter
Thaddeus Young averaged 1.8 offensive rebounds per game during the regular season. He has 10 of them midway through the third period. Cleveland has all the momentum right now, but Young is still preserving a bunch of possessions for Indiana.
Pacers 77, Cavs 62 — 7:50 left in the third quarter
Poor finishing at the rim is KILLING the Pacers right now. Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young have missed several efforts at the rim, and Cleveland is taking advantage by getting good looks on the counterattack.
Pacers 77, Cavs 56 — 8:47 Left in the Third Quarter
Wow. LeBron's probably going to catch Kareem during this playoff run. In my opinion, those top three are also the top three greatest players of all time.
Pacers 76, Cavs 54 — 9:29 Left in the Third Quarter
We obviously shouldn't have expected the Pacers to be up this much. But Indiana was such an amazing team all year on the road, and Cleveland was very mediocre on the road. It's not QUITE as surprising as some are making it out to be.
Pacers 74, Cavs 49 — Halftime
Was that the best quarter we've seen from an individual in the playoffs so far? I think it might be.
Key stats at the half
IND- P. George (23 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl) T. Young (9 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 tov, 1 blk) K. Seraphin (9 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk)
CLE- L. James (13 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 3 tov, 1 blk) K. Irving (10 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast, 3 tov) K. Love (8 pts)
Pacers 74, Cavs 49 — Halftime
Pacers 74, Cavs 49 — Halftime
Pacers 74, Cavs 49 — Halftime
Indiana's 74 first-half points are a franchise playoff record. The Pacers are 10-of-16 from three-point range and are doing an awfully good impression of their opponent.
Pacers 72, Cavs 49 — 5.5 Seconds Left in the Second Quarter
Turner has made his presence felt in Game 3 after two invisible games in Cleveland.
Pacers 66, Cavs 46 — 1:44 left in the second quarter
Indiana leads by 20, but I still have this feeling that LeBron and Cleveland are going to close the gap significantly by the time the fourth quarter rolls around.
Pacers 62, Cavs 43 — 3:04 Left in the Second Quarter
The MVP of this game so far (Paul George) is shooting just 5-of-12 so far. But he has 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists without a turnover.
Pacers 62, Cavs 40 — 3:20 left in the second quarter
Early on, the Cavs led 4-0 in the offensive rebounding department. After some hungry plays by the Pacers, it's now a 5-5 tie in that statistic.
Pacers 56, Cavs 38 — 4:36 Left in the Second Quarter
Now might be a good time for Tyronn Lue to bust out that secret adjustment that was supposed to turn around the Cavs' defense.
- April 20, 2017
Pacers 52, Cavs 36 — 5:52 Left in the Second Quarter
This is inexcusable for LeBron. How does a player with his basketball IQ not see this?
Pacers 50, Cavs 36 — 5:54 Left in the Second Quarter
On an off shooting night (3-of-9 for seven points), PG-13 is doing other things to help his team succeed. He has seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and no turnovers.
Pacers 50, Cavs 36 — 6:02 left in the second quarter
After that reach-in by Kyrie Irving, Indiana is in the penalty for the last six-plus minutes of the second quarter. That won't help the Cavs' defense, which was already bad.
Pacers 48, Cavs 36 — 6:51 Left in the Second Quarter
This won't make Kobe fans very happy. LeBron needed 18 fewer games to pass him, too.
Pacers 44, Cavs 32 — 8:17 Left in the Second Quarter
Here's your early candidate for dunk of the playoffs, folks. Insane extension by Myles on that punch. He's already matched his Game 2 point total (six).
Pacers 42, Cavs 32 — 8:28 Left in the Second Quarter
GET ME THAT VIDEO, TWITTER!
Pacers 40, Cavs 29 — 9:08 Left in the Second Quarter
LeBron is only 32. He's going to rank very high on a lot of playoff stat boards when he retires. He should pass Kobe Bryant for third in playoff scoring tonight, too.
Pacers 40, Cavs 29 — 10:07 left in the second quarter
It turns out Monta Ellis will play tonight. Let's see if the Cavs target him on the defensive end as they did in Game 2.
Pacers 40, Cavs 27 — 10:52 left in the second quarter
The Cavaliers' defense against play types has been abysmal so far tonight. It doesn't help that Indiana is 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Pacers 37, Cavs 27 — End of First Quarter
Pacers 37, Cavs 27 — End of First Quarter
Pacers 37, Cavs 27 — End of First Quarter
The Pacers' bench tonight, led by Kevin Seraphin, has been absolutely amazing. They have 19 points, five rebounds and three assists on 7-of-8 shooting in the first quarter.
Pacers 29, Cavs 22 — 1:15 left in the first quarter
Lance Stephenson is definitely channeling his 2013-14 self so far tonight. He's grabbing rebounds with ferocity, dishing fancy passes and hitting shots.
Pacers 25, Cavs 19 — 1:56 Left in the First Quarter
No minutes yet for Monta Ellis tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a DNP-CD tonight. He was that bad in Game 2.
Pacers 23, Cavs 19 — 2:42 Left in the First Quarter
Smart move by Seraphin to attack LeBron in the post when he has one foul already. You put Cleveland in a tough position when James gets two fouls in the first quarter. We'll see if Indiana continues with the strategy.
Pacers 19, Cavs 19 — 4:07 Left in the First Quarter
Here's one of LeBron's nightly "how did he do that?" passes, in case you missed it earlier.
Pacers 19, Cavs 15 — 4:39 Left in the First Quarter
We have an unlikely hero so far...
Pacers 16, Cavs 13 — 5:56 left in the first quarter
I've questioned Paul George's leadership as of late, but his four assists so far have been awesome. He's empowering his teammates and getting them fired up on their home floor.
Pacers 16, Cavs 13 — 5:56 Left in the First Quarter
The Pacers' starting frontcourt of Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner have come to play. They have 11 points already, on 5-of-6 shooting.
Pacers 16, Cavs 13 — 5:56 Left in the First Quarter
Tristan Thompson has three offensive rebounds. The Pacers just got their first. That could be a problem for Indy.
Pacers 9, Cavs 8 — 8:20 Left in the First Quarter
So many times he makes great passes you don't see on the telecast. I thought he was going to drive there, but he whipped a perfect dime to Love for a wide-open three.
Pacers 4, Cavs 4 — 10:09 left in the first quarter
Myles Turner canned his first jumper on a pick-and-pop. Great sign for Indiana.
New Starter
C.J. Miles has played just 32 minutes combined in the first two games of the series. Don't be surprised if he gets close to that number in Game 3 alone.
No Place Like Home
Including the playoffs, the Pacers' record at home (29-12) is 17 games better than their road record (13-30) this season.
Adjustment by Indiana
I like this move by Nate McMillan. Monta Ellis played 25 minutes in Game 2 and was utterly useless on both ends of the floor. Miles is a decent defender and he spaces the floor with his three-point shooting.
Star Power
Will Cleveland's Big Three be as spectacular as it was in Game 2? 89 points will be tough to top, especially moving on the road.
Missing Center
The Pacers are still waiting on the Myles Turner of the regular season to show up. He's averaging 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the postseason on 36.4 percent shooting.
No Messing Around
The East being bad has something to do with this, but this is still an amazing streak. It takes a lot of consistency to win that many games against even average competition.
True, But...
This seems a bit hypocritical, given that PG-13 has publicly aired his grievances with three separate teammates (C.J. Miles, Lance Stephenson and Myles Turner) following Games 1 and 2. The issues weren't defensive communication in those cases, but it's still a bit ironic.
Key Player Stats for the Game
CLE- L. James (41 pts, 13 reb, 12 ast, 2 blk) K. Love (13 pts, 6 reb) K. Irving (13 pts, 4 ast)
IND- P. George (36 pts, 15 reb, 9 ast) J. Teague (15 pts, 7 ast) L. Stephenson (13 pts, 6 reb) T. Young (11 pts, 14 reb 3 ast)