The No. 5 seed Indiana Pacers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-90, in Game Three of their first-round Eastern Conference playoffs matchup in Indiana Friday night. With the win, the Pacers take a 2-1 series lead.
Indiana entered the game as a 1.5-point favorite and thus successfully covered the spread. The game went under the Over/Under (O/U) of 208.5 points.
Odds for Game Four will be released shortly at the BetDSI Sportsbook. We anticipate the line will be very narrow, but the Pacers will likely be slight favorites.
Bojan Bogdanović led Indiana with 30 points. Victor Oladipo chipped in 18.
LeBron James, who scored a game-high 46 points and dominated in every facet of the game in Game Two, received minimal help again this time around. LeBron was dominant yet again (28 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists). He achieved his 100th career playoff double-double.
100 career playoff double-doubles ✔#StriveForGreatness🚀 pic.twitter.com/W15B3tAcSe
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 21, 2018
Cavs Led Early
The Cavs got off to a hot start and led 31-20 after one quarter. They built on their lead in the second quarter, which they won 26-20, and went into the half with a 17-point lead, 57-40.
Let's keep this up.
Love: 16PTS
LBJ: 13PTS, 8REB
Hill: 11PTS#WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/gRL8F68bcE— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 21, 2018
The Pacers made their run in the third quarter. Indiana narrowed the gap to six points, 69-63. It was a low-scoring quarter, and Indiana won it 23-12. Cleveland shot only 5 for 19 from the field and had six turnovers.
Indiana took over and sealed the win, thanks largely to Bogdanović’s clutch shooting, in the fourth quarter. J.R. Smith missed a desperation three at the buzzer.
Looking Ahead
After the Pacers cruised to a Game One win, the Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 100-97 in Cleveland in Game Two.
Game Three was broadcast on ESPN. Mike Breen and former NBA coaches Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy provided the call.
Game Four of this series is set for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EST as Cleveland looks to tie it up. TNT will broadcast the game.
