Pacers at Cavaliers
With the battle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference likely coming down to the final week of the regular season, the Indiana Pacers know they'll need to play a lot better than they have been in order to fend off the Miami Heat. They'd like to start with a strong bounce-back effort Sunday afternoon as they travel to Cleveland for a date with the Cavaliers. Indiana's lead over Miami is down to 1 1/2 games after the Pacers fell 91-78 in Washington in Friday.
Indiana made a statement earlier in the week with a victory over the Heat on Wednesday, but saw their momentum stifled in a dreadful effort against a Wizards team that limited them to 35.4 percent from the field. "The game Wednesday doesn't mean anything if we don't get the one (Friday), and we're back at square one," guard George Hill told reporters afterward. The Cavaliers sit 10th in the East and are coming off a 108-97 loss in Brooklyn.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE PACERS (52-21): As one of the young stars in the league, Pacers swingman Paul George is used to not getting the same volume of calls more senior players get - but that didn't prevent him from venting his frustration at officials during Friday's loss. Head coach Frank Vogel sympathizes with George, but says it's on him to do a better job at the rim. "There's a lot of contact at the basket," Vogel told the Indianapolis Star. "He's just got to find his groove in terms of creating the right air space for his shots so that he can be a better finisher.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (29-45): Cleveland was a team in tatters when these clubs last met Jan. 5 at Quicken Loans Arena, when the Pacers escaped with an 82-78 victory. Things have improved modestly since then, with the Cavaliers adding some veteran help in small forward Luol Deng and center Spencer Hawes. "We definitely have a different team now," forward Tristan Thompson told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We've got two veterans who have played at a high level in the playoffs and know the game."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers have lost nine straight meetings with the Pacers.
2. Indiana has dropped four consecutive road games.
3. Cleveland PG Kyrie Irving is expected to miss his seventh game in a row with a biceps injury.