Pacers Pull Away From Cavaliers, NBA Scores

When LeBron James took a seat Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers took a step forward.

With the four-time MVP resting, the Pacers got their offense on track, their defense in sync and proved they could finally close out a game. Paul George scored 29 points, C.J. Miles added 21 and Indiana made 16 3-pointers to pull away from Cleveland 123-109.

"Even without LeBron, they still have two All-Stars out there," Solomon Hill said after scoring a season-high 15 points. "They're going to shoot the ball, execute their plays, and it's a team we could see in the playoffs. (Every win) is a building block."

This one certainly helped.

By winning their third in a row, Indiana stayed a half-game ahead of eighth-place Detroit in the conference standings and pulled three games ahead of idle Chicago, which is trying to fight its way out of the No. 9 slot and into one of the final two playoff spots.

Without James, the Cavs didn't look like the best team in the conference.

One night after making 18 3-pointers, they were a dreadful 8 of 29 beyond the arc and were outscored in the paint, on second-chance points and even on fast breaks.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 26 points and six assists, while Kevin Love had 23 points and five rebounds.

Wednesday, April 6 Scoreboard

Indiana 123, Cleveland 109

Detroit 108, Orlando 104
    
Washington 121, Brooklyn 103
    
Boston 104, New Orleans 97

Charlotte 111, New York 97
     
Dallas 88, Houston 86

Portland 120, Oklahoma City 115
     
Los Angeles Clippers 91, Los Angeles Lakers 81

Thursday, April 7 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Atlanta, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Miami, 6 p.m.

Phoenix atHouston, 6 p.m.

Minnesota at Sacramento, 8 p.m.

San Antonio at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.