Pacers at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers experienced a dreadful March and are trying to regroup during a new month as they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. The Cavaliers posted a lackluster 7-10 record last month and find themselves trailing the first-place Boston Celtics by a half-game in the battle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with just seven contests remaining.
All-Star forward LeBron James has agonized over the squad's month-long swoon but he said after Friday's 122-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers that he is done thinking about March. "I'm never a guy to look back," James told reporters. "No reason. Push forward. The past is the past. We've got to focus on the present and that's what we're going to do." The Pacers would prefer nobody studies their recent past either as they have lost three consecutive games and five of their past six. The untimely slide leaves Indiana in a tight three-team battle with the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls for the final two playoff spots.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE PACERS (37-39): Indiana is allowing an average of 110.7 points over the past six games and the struggles were evident during Friday's 111-100 loss to the Toronto Raptors. All-Star forward Paul George laid it on the line with his postgame comments by making it clear the team won't be part of the postseason if there isn't a sudden change in defensive performance. "Our past couple of games, we have been giving up 100-plus and you are not going to win at a high rate," George told reporters, "especially if you don't have an efficient offense."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (48-27): Power forward Kevin Love played one of his better games since returning from a knee injury by contributing 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the 76ers. Love tallied 10 or fewer points in four of the first seven games after his return - he was 7-of-22 shooting in the previous two games - and is one of the players glad to say good-bye to March. "It was a tough month for us," Love told reporters. "Who knows - maybe we will look at April as another chapter for us. We're just trying to get better game-by-game. I know it's a cliché but that's the truth."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers are 2-1 against the Pacers this season and won five of the past seven meetings.
2. Cleveland swingman Kyle Korver (foot) will sit out for the fourth consecutive contest.
3. Indiana swingman Glenn Robinson III (ankle) will miss his sixth straight game and is slated to undergo tests later in the week.