Game of the Day | James, Cavs laugh last
INDIANAPOLIS - The Cleveland Cavaliers were having a blast laughing at the Indiana Pacers for about 2 ½ quarters.
The joke almost was on them.
Indiana erased a 14-point deficit in the third quarter before Cleveland rallied behind LeBron James’ fourth triple-double of the season to beat the Pacers 111-106 Sunday for their third straight win.
Cleveland’s obnoxious behavior - and the lapse that followed - bothered coach Mike Brown.
“We have to do a better job of respecting the game,” he said. “Especially when we’re up. We’ve got to continue doing the little things on both ends of the floor that got us the lead.”
James, the league’s leading scorer, finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
He needed to perform that way because his teammates struggled without him. The Cavaliers led 71-63 in the third quarter when James went to the bench to rest. With James out, the Pacers went on a 12-2 run to take a 75-73 lead at the end of the period.
Indiana swingman Marquis Daniels scored six of his 25 points during the run. During that stretch of nearly four minutes, the Cavaliers had five turnovers and took just two shots.
James, who did more than his share of trash talking, gained respect for the Pacers as the game progressed.
“They’re more up-and-down,” he said. “They have the athletes to do that, and they have the point guard that’s going to lead them. I like what I’m seeing.”
It was the 14th triple-double of his career.
“He might be the only guy I’ve seen that looks like he was engineered to play basketball,” said Pacers forward Danny Granger, who guarded James for much of the game. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
James said the triple-doubles only matter if they lead to wins.
“The best thing about it,” he said, “we got three straight wins and that’s good. We got a little streak going.”
Drew Gooden had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Sasha Pavlovic added 22 points and five assists for the Cavaliers.
Jamaal Tinsley had 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Indiana, but he had eight turnovers and shot 7 for 20 from the field.
It was Cleveland’s fourth straight win in the series, but the Cavaliers nearly blew it at the end. Cleveland led 109-106 with 8.8 seconds to go when James missed two free throws to give the Pacers a chance to tie. Shawne Williams missed a three-pointer, and Pavlovic rebounded. Pavlovic made two free throws at the other end to finish the scoring.