Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 104 - 100 Indiana Pacers - 5 Talking Points

The first round matchup between the 4th-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and the 5th-seeded Indiana Pacers has proved to be a great series thus far. Three of the four games have been extremely close, and if not for a play here or there, could have gone the other way.

Game 4 was as good a treat as Game 3, as the Cavaliers made a couple of clutch shots in a close situation to ice the game.

Lance Stephenson and Jeff Green rolled around while jostling for the ball with 9.4 seconds remaining. The referees, instead of calling what should have been a double technical or just one on Jeff Green, instead gave it to Cleveland, and that was that for the game as it became a 2-possession game following the technical free throw.

We have the following 5 talking points from the game:

#5 Kevin Love had a substandard game

Cleveland Cavaliers v Indiana Pacers - Game Four

The Cavaliers were fortunate to come away with this game despite the decidedly inferior play of their All-Star center Kevin Love. The former Minnesota strongman just cannot seem to get the hang of pick-and-roll defense, and the Pacers have mercilessly exploited his defensive deficiencies over the course of this series.

In little under a couple of minutes of gameplay after tip-off, Love got himself sent to the bench with 2 quick fouls. Playing over 29 minutes for the game, Love managed just 2-of-10 from the field, including 0-for-3 from 3-point territory. While he did grab 5 offensive boards and 11 overall, he was worthless for the most part and finished with only 5 points in the game.

It has been 4 games running now that Love has shot below his usual excellent standards. The tough, in-the-face defense played by the Pacers has played its part, but Love has missed too many open shots for his own liking. The Cavs would be well-served by a Kevin Love playing at full capacity.

#4 The Pacers continue their pattern of falling behind in the first half

The Pacers' backcourt

In Game 2, the Pacers gave up a 16-1 lead to the Cavaliers, from which they never really recovered - they did run the game close, but the Cavs did not relinquish the lead. They were behind by double-digit points in Game 3 as well, but this time their comeback culminated in a win.

Game 4 was very similar to the 2 previous games in this aspect, as the Pacers again ceded significant scoring ground to LeBron's team. At the end of the first quarter, the Cavs led 30-24. They increased this lead to 60-50 by halftime, but the Pacers mounted a spirited comeback and took their first lead after 3-2 early in the 4th quarter at 83-82.

Even though they lost the game eventually, it's a recurring sign of the fight in this team's heart.

#3 The Pacers' big men get the job done together

Myles Turner

Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis had good nights on the offensive end. Turner got into foul trouble early in the game, and only finished around 23 minutes but overall - he was slated for many more minutes as the starting center.

Turner did a fine job of scoring the basketball. He hit 7 of his 9 field goal attempts - including 3-of-4 from downtown. The 3s he shot were all of the rainbow variety, and he made 2 of them straight on and one of them from the left corner.

Sabonis was dominant on the boards and was overall a much better defender than Turner. He played over 25 minutes - he and Turner never shared the floor together. He hit 9 of his 12 shot attempts, including a lone 3-point attempt. He was dominant on the offensive glass as well, converting missed layups by Thaddeus Young into put-back shots.

#2 Victor Oladipo has his first average game of the series

JR Smith and Victor Oladipo jostle for the ball

Over the first 3 games of the series, it could be argued that Victor Oladipo had been a more valuable player with his performances than LeBron James. He blew this lead in Game 4, however, and came up short on a night when the Pacers needed a breakout scorer.

Oladipo tried to force the issue on too many occasions while driving. He was also mostly off from 3-point range on the night, save for the amazing turnaround shot he made with less than 10 seconds left to play in the game.

All-in-all, Oladipo went 5-for-20 from the field and 3-of-8 from 3-point territory, and only got 5 free throws to show for all the trouble he took to drive into the heart of Cleveland's defense.

His 17 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist, 3 steal performance was a rather average outing by his standards in this playoff series, and one would hope as a neutral that he shoots better percentages in the games to come.

#1 Role players complement LeBron for the first time this series

James and his teammates arrive at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in identical suits - again

While it is a well-known fact that LeBron can abuse any defender on this planet to get whatever he wants in the form of buckets, what was being questioned coming into this series is the amount of help he'd get from his teammates.

For the first time in this series, his supporting cast played up to its potential and gave adequate support to LeBron, who piled up much of the agony on the Pacers by himself with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

His chief supporting star was Kyle Korver, who shot 4-of-9 from 3-point territory and made 6 of his 7 free throws. While Korver was cold for most of the game, he hit 2 clutch 3-pointers and some clutch free throws at the end of the game and was the difference between a Cavs loss and a win with all said and done.

The likes of Jordan Clarkson (who went 5-9 from the field for 12 points), Larry Nance (6 points), Jeff Green (8 points) and Rodney Hood (6 points) were all instrumental in keeping the Cavs' scorecard ticking. JR Smith had a fantastic game on both ends of the floor, and he had the best highlight play of the game - a buzzer-beating 65-foot shot to signal halftime.

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