Cleveland, OH (My Sportsbook) - LeBron James filled up the stat sheet with 27 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and four blocked shots, leading the
Cleveland Cavaliers to a 111-107 win over the
Indiana Pacers.
James' great all-around night, capped by an incredible block of a T.J. Ford layup in the final minutes, was enough to help the Cavs edge Indiana, which got a 33-point effort from Danny Granger.
"We didn't have a lot of energy to start the game. Our bench was able to relieve some of the stress on our first unit, brought a lot of energy and we were able to pull out a win," James said. "Games like these show the type of team you are."
Mo Williams scored 21 points and Anderson Varejao added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Cavs, who won their third straight. Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 17 points for Cleveland.
Marquis Daniels scored 17 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Pacers, who have dropped three of four to start the season. Ford added 13 points for Indiana.
"We didn't take care of the ball. I don't know how many turnovers we had, but it was too much," Pacers guard Jarrett Jack said. "Then LeBron got on a roll in the second half and became too tough to stop."
James tied the back-and-forth affair at 84-84 with a jumper with nine minutes to play in regulation, and the Cavs soon carved out a nine-point lead. The Pacers cut back to within 108-104 on two Granger free throws with 1:36 left, but James drained a long three from the wing to put Cleveland back up by seven.
Granger answered with a trey of his own, though, and a missed James three was tipped out into an easy layup try for Ford. James sprinted back across the court and leapt from behind Ford, though, slapping the ball just as it left Ford's hands.
The block prevented Indiana from pulling to within two points, and Granger missed a three from the corner in the final seconds as Cleveland held on.
The Pacers opened with an 18-8 push, and led 29-20 after one quarter. The Cavs opened the second frame with a 13-0 run, but the Pacers were able to take a 48-43 lead into the intermission.
Indiana led by 10 early in the third quarter, but the Cavs were able to pull within 74-71 entering the final 12 minutes.
Game Notes
The Pacers made all 11 free throws they attempted, while the Cavaliers made 24-of-28 from the charity stripe...The Cavs won all four meetings last season, and have won eight straight over Indiana...Wally Szczerbiak scored 11 points off the bench for Cleveland.
