Pacers at Cavaliers
The defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers remain the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference despite stumbling since the All-Star break and dropping down to the No. 2 seed. The Cavaliers will begin their title defense by hosting the seventh-seeded Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the first round on Saturday.
Cleveland dropped four in a row closing out the regular season to fall behind the Boston Celtics in the standings but is still confident that when healthy and motivated it remains a dominant team. "We have a good chance to win it all," Cavaliers superstar LeBron James told reporters. "But it starts with baby steps first, and we understand that. It starts with our opponent (on Saturday). We have to be very determined, but we also have to be very smart about our game plan and how we execute that game plan, execute that (for as close to) 48 minutes as possible, starting with Game 1." The Pacers went over two months without securing consecutive wins until they had their backs up against the wall down the stretch, and they responded by closing the season with five straight victories to clinch a playoff spot. "It's both a relief and excitement to go into a new season," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan told reporters after his team beat Atlanta on the final day of the regular season to secure a playoff spot. "This team was built to get into the playoffs. I think we're playing good basketball and I think we can play better. I think these guys are having fun the last five games."
TV: 3 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE PACERS (42-40): All-Star small forward Paul Goerge led the charge over the last five games, averaging 30.8 points on 56.9 percent shooting while recording three double-doubles in that span. "I guess it's because we're doing everything right," George said of the five-game winning streak. "When our back is against the wall, we figure things out. It just showed the character of this team, that we knew all along that we should have been a playoff team, we just hadn't figured out how to play the game the right way. I think we did that at the right time." That streak began after a 135-130 double-overtime loss at Cleveland in which George scored 19 of his 43 points in the overtime periods.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (51-31): James, who collected 41 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in that April 2 win over Indiana, is looking to advance to the NBA Finals for the seventh straight season. Cleveland is heading in the postseason healthy after resting nagging injuries down the stretch but needs to address a defense that finished 20th in the NBA in points allowed at an average of 107.2 "At the end of the day, I'm not going to harp on what happened in the regular season through injuries, through bad losses, through good wins, through whatever the case may be," James told reporters. "We have a good club going into the postseason. That's all you can ask for."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Cavaliers led the East in 3-point percentage (38.4) and made 3-pointers per game (13).
2. Indiana went 5-1 with Lance Stephenson in the lineup after signing the veteran swingman at the end of March.
3. Cleveland took three of the four meetings this season and seven of the last nine.