Pacers at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers survived the first of several games without starting forward Kevin Love and look to carry a winning streak into the All-Star break when they host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Love is set to miss at least six weeks following knee surgery, and his teammates pressed on without him in Tuesday's 116-108 victory at Minnesota.
LeBron James finished with 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds to help the Cavaliers open a 2 1/2-game lead over Boston in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers will be desperate to take advantage of Cleveland's quick turnaround, as they've lost four in a row and know that the season's stretch run is fast approaching. "It's very frustrating, especially losing to Eastern teams, where these games are going to come down to late March, early April, where we're playing desperate basketball trying to make playoffs," Indiana forward Paul George told reporters in the wake of Monday's 110-106 home loss to San Antonio. Cleveland and Indiana have split two meetings this season - both in Indianapolis - and Cavaliers guard Kyle Korver made 8-of-9 3-pointers in a 132-117 win over the Pacers last Wednesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, FSN Indiana, FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE PACERS (29-26): Indiana's four-game slide began with that loss to Cleveland last week and also has featured a visit to red-hot Washington and the home meeting with the Spurs, but the slate doesn't get much easier going forward. The Wizards pay a visit to Indianapolis in the final game before the All-Star break, and the Pacers emerge from the week off to host a challenging Memphis squad before hitting the road for five straight. Lavoy Allen (knee) is questionable for this one and fellow forward Thaddeus Young (wrist) will miss his sixth game in a row.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (38-16): Veteran Channing Frye stepped into the starting lineup at Minnesota and recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds, just about on par with an average performance for Love. Frye and James combined to make 17-of-29 shots as Cleveland hit 51.2 percent in improving to 6-1 in its last seven games. The Cavaliers have scored an average of 122.6 points during that stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland has won five straight meetings at home.
2. Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving scored 25 points at Minnesota and is averaging 26.4 since sitting out a game with a quadriceps injury earlier this month.
3. Indiana is 9-17 on the road.