NBA Playoffs First Round: Cavaliers 117-111 Pacers
Indiana Pacers 111-117 Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers held off another late fightback from Indiana Pacers to go 2-0 up in their Eastern Conference First Round playoff match-up.
Cleveland had been pushed hard in the opening game of the series as a CJ Miles-led surge meant the champions only just emerged with a 109-108 win.
And this time Pacers' talisman Paul George led the fightback - as the No 7 seed cut an 18-point lead to just four in the final minute before Cleveland squeezed them out with late free throws.
LeBron James celebrates with Iman Shumpert as Cleveland Cavaliers take a 2-0 series lead
It was an all-too familiar pattern for Cleveland, who had developed a habit of sacrificing fourth-quarter leads in the final stretch of the regular season - a habit they'll desperately want to shake.
And it had all begun to plan as Cavaliers looked set to sweep their opponents away at Quicken Loans with all big three stars firing offensively.
Kyrie Irving finished with 37, Kevin Love scored 27 and LeBron James added 25, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the champions looked to have rediscovered their groove.
The third quarter was particularly fruitful for the Cavaliers as they took advantage of a mismatch down low feeding Love in the post - who netted 10 straight points and drew a charge in a run of just two minutes.
Kyrie Irving taunts Indiana's Lance Stephenson after hitting a three-pointer over the swingman
The two team's talisman LeBron James and Paul George guarded each other throughout
Irving put an exclamation point on the period by sinking a three-pointer over Indiana's Lance Stephenson, before trash-talking the famously loud-mouthed Pacers star.
But as they seemingly took their foot off the gas they allowed Indiana, who saw point guard Jeff Teague injure his wrist in the second half, to creep back into it.
The bottom line is another win though and despite concerns over another fourth-quarter lead almost being blown, James was encouraged by his team's performance.
Touching on the familiar theme of 'turning the switch on' come playoff time, James told reporters: 'We're right there of what we know can become.'
Paul George throws down a dunk in the face of Cleveland's Tristan Thompson on Monday night
Kevin Love was unstoppable for a two-minute period in the third quarter - scoring 10 straight
'We'll figure it out. I'd much rather have an 18-point lead than not have a lead at all. We're right there on turning the switch on what we really can become.'
It was a demoralising loss for the Pacers - who are left with a mountain to climb as the series heads back to Indianapolis.
For Cleveland it's harder to draw conclusions though, as they know tougher challenges lie in wait should they ease through this first round as expected.
J.R. Smith didn't play the second half because of a hamstring problem - he was replaced by Iman Shumpert for the final 20 minutes.