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Pacers (7-11) @ Cavaliers (15-3)
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been perfect at home thus far this season. Against the Indiana Pacers recently, it hasn't mattered where the teams play.
The Cavaliers try to extend their best-ever start at home and their recent mastery of the Pacers when the Central Division rivals meet Friday.
Cleveland (15-3) improved to 10-0 at Quicken Loans Arena with a 118-82 rout of the New York Knicks on Wednesday, showing no mercy on the undermanned team. LeBron James scored 21 points and watched the fourth quarter from the bench as the Cavaliers extended a 25-point halftime lead to as much as 42.
"It's great," James said about the 10-0 home mark that bettered the previous record held by the 1976-77 and 1991-92 teams. "It's always good to go out and protect home court and we did that, which is really good."
The superstar has averaged 27.3 points, 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent at home, leading a Cavaliers attack that has put up 108.5 points per game while shooting 50.5 percent. Coach Mike Brown, though, says the offensive efficiency is due to the commitment on the defensive end at home, where Cleveland is limiting opponents to 92.1 points per game and 41.1 percent shooting.
"That's our identity, we're a defensive team," Brown said. "When we defend the way that we're capable of, it makes us look good offensively. That's our bread and butter."
Not surprisingly, James has had a large hand in the Cavaliers winning eight straight games against the Pacers (7-11), averaging 27.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists while posting two triple-doubles in that span. He narrowly missed a third in Cleveland's 111-107 home victory over Indiana on Nov. 7, totaling 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Cavs scored 40 fourth-quarter points.
That victory also was Cleveland's eighth straight at home against Indiana since a 109-104 double-overtime defeat on Nov. 3, 2004, and the Cavaliers have not lost to the Pacers since falling 97-87 on Nov. 24, 2006.
Indiana's four-point loss is the closest anyone has come to beating the Cavaliers in Cleveland this season, and is part of the puzzling inconsistency that plagues the cellar-dwelling Pacers.
They have victories over the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics and Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, but have dropped eight of their last 11 following a three-game winning streak.
This uneven effort was again apparent in Indiana's last two games - pulling out a last-second win over the Lakers on Tuesday before the Celtics avenged that earlier loss with a 114-96 victory on Wednesday.
T.J. Ford had 15 points and eight assists, but had no success guarding counterpart Rajon Rondo, who burned the Pacers for a career-high 17 assists while recording his first career triple-double.
"What went wrong? Everything man, everything," Pacers guard Marquis Daniels said. "Go down the list, what do you want to talk about? We didn't do a good job of doing anything right tonight."
Pacers swingman Danny Granger, who hit five 3-pointers and scored 33 points in the Nov. 7 loss to the Cavaliers, has averaged 27.3 points on 55.4 percent shooting - including 48.0 percent from 3-point range - in his last three games versus Cleveland.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been perfect at home thus far this season. Against the Indiana Pacers recently, it hasn't mattered where the teams play.
The Cavaliers try to extend their best-ever start at home and their recent mastery of the Pacers when the Central Division rivals meet Friday.
Cleveland (15-3) improved to 10-0 at Quicken Loans Arena with a 118-82 rout of the New York Knicks on Wednesday, showing no mercy on the undermanned team. LeBron James scored 21 points and watched the fourth quarter from the bench as the Cavaliers extended a 25-point halftime lead to as much as 42.
"It's great," James said about the 10-0 home mark that bettered the previous record held by the 1976-77 and 1991-92 teams. "It's always good to go out and protect home court and we did that, which is really good."
The superstar has averaged 27.3 points, 7.2 assists and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 54.7 percent at home, leading a Cavaliers attack that has put up 108.5 points per game while shooting 50.5 percent. Coach Mike Brown, though, says the offensive efficiency is due to the commitment on the defensive end at home, where Cleveland is limiting opponents to 92.1 points per game and 41.1 percent shooting.
"That's our identity, we're a defensive team," Brown said. "When we defend the way that we're capable of, it makes us look good offensively. That's our bread and butter."
Not surprisingly, James has had a large hand in the Cavaliers winning eight straight games against the Pacers (7-11), averaging 27.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists while posting two triple-doubles in that span. He narrowly missed a third in Cleveland's 111-107 home victory over Indiana on Nov. 7, totaling 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Cavs scored 40 fourth-quarter points.
That victory also was Cleveland's eighth straight at home against Indiana since a 109-104 double-overtime defeat on Nov. 3, 2004, and the Cavaliers have not lost to the Pacers since falling 97-87 on Nov. 24, 2006.
Indiana's four-point loss is the closest anyone has come to beating the Cavaliers in Cleveland this season, and is part of the puzzling inconsistency that plagues the cellar-dwelling Pacers.
They have victories over the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics and Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, but have dropped eight of their last 11 following a three-game winning streak.
This uneven effort was again apparent in Indiana's last two games - pulling out a last-second win over the Lakers on Tuesday before the Celtics avenged that earlier loss with a 114-96 victory on Wednesday.
T.J. Ford had 15 points and eight assists, but had no success guarding counterpart Rajon Rondo, who burned the Pacers for a career-high 17 assists while recording his first career triple-double.
"What went wrong? Everything man, everything," Pacers guard Marquis Daniels said. "Go down the list, what do you want to talk about? We didn't do a good job of doing anything right tonight."
Pacers swingman Danny Granger, who hit five 3-pointers and scored 33 points in the Nov. 7 loss to the Cavaliers, has averaged 27.3 points on 55.4 percent shooting - including 48.0 percent from 3-point range - in his last three games versus Cleveland.
