Pacers at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a late comeback and earned a one-point win in the first game of the Eastern Conference playoffs, but questions about the team remain. The second-seeded Cavaliers will try to clean up some their mistakes and earn a commanding lead in the series when they host the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 on Monday.
Cleveland let a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter slip away and was a missed shot at the buzzer away from losing Game 1, but All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving does not feel the team is vulnerable. "Feel vulnerable? Hell no," Irving told reporters. "Not going into any game with the group that we have. I understand there's some mistakes that happen throughout the game, and the regular season didn't end the way we wanted it to, but like I said, it's just a step in the right direction. Game 1, just taking care of home floor and have to come out for Game 2 with an even higher focus and even better level of intensity, limit our mistakes, and we will be good." C.J. Miles missed a mid-range jumper at the buzzer in Saturday's loss but Indiana just confirmed its belief that it could hang with the defending champions. "We knew we could go toe-to-toe with them," Pacers All-Star forward Paul George told the media. "We challenged them the last time we were here. We knew we had a chance coming in to win a game here. It sucks that we're down 0-1, but it's encouraging."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE PACERS: The last possession of Game 1 was a hot topic of conversation after the contest, with George wondering why he didn't get the ball back after passing out of a double team. "I talked to C.J. about it," George told reporters. "In situations like that, I've got to get the last shot. ... But at the same time, I've got to have trust in my teammates. C.J.'s been in that position in this season where I've needed him to make a big shot and I've kicked to him and he's made that big shot." George finished with 29 points and went 6-of-8 from 3-point range in the loss, marking the sixth time in eight playoff games the last two seasons that he scored at least 25 points.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: Cleveland stumbled out of the top spot in the East with a 12-15 record after the All-Star break, including four straight losses to end the campaign, and Game 1 wasn't the dominant effort the team had been seeking. "The playoffs are about adjustments and what you can do better," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters "I just think that if we got to those 50-50 balls and the offensive rebounds, that it would have been a totally different game. Hats off to (Indiana). They played well, but we’ll be better." Cleveland went 14-of-27 from the free-throw line in Game 1 and surrendered 12 offensive rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers swingman Lance Stephenson scored 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting in Game 1 - his highest output since making his team debut on Apr. 2.
2. Irving went 1-of-9 from 3-point range in Game 1.
3. Cleveland SF LeBron James' teams have not lost a first-round game since May 6, 2012.