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Cavs hold off Pacers, Spurs also go 2-0 up
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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 while Kevin Love added 27 and James had 25 as the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided another 4th-quarter collapse in Game 2 of their NBA playoffs, beating the Indiana Pacers 117-111 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
After giving up a late lead and squeaking out the opener by just a point, James and Co. showed more intensity on defense 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 4th as the Pacers crawled within 4 in the final minute before Cleveland closed it out.
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.”
Paul George scored 32 for Indiana, which now has a steep hill to climb to get back in the series. Cleveland is 12-0 when starting 2-0 in the postseason.
In San Antonio, the Spurs also seized control against the Memphis Grizzlies, whose coach David Fizdale was left fuming after watching his team slide to a 82-96 loss in their Western Conference showdown.
Kawhi Leonard finished with 37 points as the Spurs took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series at AT&T Center.
But Fizdale unleashed a spectacular post-game tirade against the officiating crew, which is almost certain to bring disciplinary action.
He complained bitterly that officials had unfairly skewed the free throw count against his players. “It was a very poorly officiated basketball game. First half we had 19 shots in the paint and had six free throws. They shot 11 times in the paint and had 23 free throws.
“I’m not a numbers guy but that doesn’t seem to add up. Overall we shot the ball in the paint 35 times and we had 15 free throws — for the game. They shot 18 times and had 32 free throws. Explain it to me.”
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