The No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the No. 5 seed Indiana Pacers, 100-97, in Game Two of their first-round Eastern Conference playoffs matchup Wednesday. The series is now tied at one game apiece.
Cleveland failed to cover the spread as an eight-point favorite, and the game went under the Over/Under (O/U), which was set at 209 points. Odds for Game 2 will be released shortly at BetDSI Sportsbook. We expect to see a very narrow line. The Cavs entered the series as -700 favorites to win it.
LeBron James, as expected, led the Cavs with 46 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in 40 minutes of action. Victor Oladipo scored 22 points for the Pacers, while Myles Turner chipped in 18.
LeBron opened the game on an insane hot streak. He scored the game’s first 13 points and 16 of its first 17. He finished the first quarter with 20 points.
LeBron James scores the Cavs first 16 points of the game – sheesh.pic.twitter.com/HVEcm86aIw
— MyNBAUpdate (@MyNBAUpdate) April 18, 2018
He was practically unstoppable.
The King takes flight in Cleveland! 🛫
LeBron James has 12 FGM and has now set a new @cavs playoff franchise record for FGs made in a half.#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/6vGvry8wiq
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2018
The Cavs got off to an incredibly slow start in Game One and could not recover. Cleveland, however, came out of the gates red hot on Wednesday. After one quarter, the Cavs led 33-18. Cleveland took a 12-point lead into the half.
Indiana Threatened
Indiana closed the gap in the third quarter, as it outscored Cleveland 21-15. Entering the fourth, the score was 74-67 Cleveland. The Cavs, however, buried Indiana in the fourth quarter, as Oladipo missed an open three in the final minute to clinch it.
The game aired on TNT, with Marv Albert, Chris Webber, and sideline reporter Allie LaForce on the call.
The series now shifts to Indiana. The teams will square off in Game Three Friday at 7 p.m. EST. The winner of this series will likely face the No. 1 seed Toronto Raptors or No. 2 seed Boston Celtics. Both top seeds currently lead their opponents, 2-0.