As the Cleveland Cavaliers seeks to repeat as NBA champions, News 5 Cleveland will be there all the way. Scroll down for a recap of each game!
GAME 1: CLEVELAND WINS
LeBron James scored 32 points and the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, looking to flip the switch after a shaky regular season, began the NBA playoffs by escaping with a 109-108 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday in Game 1.
Final score: 109-108
Playing in his 200th playoff game, James added 13 assists and six rebounds while winning his 18th consecutive first-round game.
However, it was anything but easy as the Cavs had to withstand a strong comeback by the Pacers, who could have stolen the opener but C.J. Miles missed a 14-foot jumper in the final second.
Kyrie Irving added 23 points and Kevin Love had 17 for Cleveland, which has won 12 straight playoff games at home.
Paul George scored 29 points and Lance Stephenson had 16 for the seventh-seeded Pacers, who will try to even the series on Monday night.
MORE: From our partners at the Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com
Replay: Championship Charge Post-game show
GAME 2: CLEVELAND WINS
Blown big leads. Defensive breakdowns. Bad shots. None of it means anything to LeBron James.
The only score that matters is 2-0.
Kyrie Irving scored 37 points, Kevin Love added 27, James had 25 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided another fourth-quarter collapse in Game 2, beating the Indiana Pacers on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Final score: 117-111
After giving up a late lead and squeaking out the opener by just a point, James and Co. showed more intensity on defense, more swagger in general and held on to win their 10th straight first-round game over the past three seasons.
However, the defending champions, following a pattern that began late in the regular season, nearly gave away an 18-point lead in the fourth as the Pacers crawled within four in the final minute before Cleveland closed it out at the foul line.
Still, James came away encouraged. The Cavs are finding their groove.
"We're right there of what we know can become," James said. "We'll figure it out. I'd much rather have an 18-point lead than not have a lead at all. We're right there on turning the switch on what we really can become."
James added 10 rebounds and seven assists while winning his 19th straight game in the first round. He did have eight of Cleveland's 19 turnovers, miscues that allowed the Pacers to hang around.
Game 3 is Thursday night at Indianapolis.
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GAME 3: CLEVELAND WINS
LeBron James celebrated another milestone with the greatest second-half comeback in playoff history. Win one more at Indiana, the four-time MVP will be crowned king of the first round.
Final Score: 119-114
James scored 41 points while padding his postseason resume with yet another triple-double, leading defending champion Cleveland back from a 25-point halftime deficit to a 119-114 victory over the Pacers on Thursday night.
MORE: LeBron James, Cavs come from 26 down, beat Pacers to take 3-0 lead
"We knew we had to take (some) punches, but it was a flurry, more than we expected," James said. "At halftime, I was just looking at the guys and telling them 'Let's get a couple stops.'"
Officially, it will go down as the third-largest comeback in playoff history. But the largest halftime deficit overcome previously was 21 points, by Baltimore against Philadelphia in 1948.
As for James, he keeps moving up in the record books, too.
GAME 4: CLEVELAND WINS
LeBron James made a 3-pointer with 68 seconds left Sunday and the Cavaliers hung on for a 106-102 series-clinching victory over the Indiana Pacers.
James finished with 33 points and 10 rebounds as he became the first player under the current playoff format to win 21 consecutive first-round games. He also set a league record with his 10th career playoff sweep.
Final Score: 106-102
It sure wasn’t easy. After taking a 96-83 lead with 9:29 to go, the Cavs found themselves in a 102-100 deficit with 1:31 left.
But James answered with the go-ahead 3-pointer and the Cavs sealed the win on James’ free throw with 1 second left.
Lance Stephenson scored 22 points and Paul George added 15 but missed a 3-pointer that could have forced overtime in the closing seconds. It’s the first time the Pacers have lost a series 4-0 in their NBA history.
