Game 5: Indiana Pacers 95-98 Cleveland Cavaliers - 5 Talking Points

#1 LeBron James' third quarter!

LeBron James

There's no doubting James' greatness. He put up 44 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on 14-of-24 shooting but he has been doing that the previous four games as well.

Of course, the final two clutch plays were what hit the nail on the head but the difference maker was the third quarter. The third period was a weakness for the Cavaliers but it became their strength on Wednesday night.

Although the Cavaliers did almost mess it up again in the final quarter, it was James' play in the third quarter that gave them the lead in the first place. In all of the previous four games, towards the end of the game, James was looking gassed. He used to take multiple possessions off on both ends of the floor.

After halftime, his shot ranges increased from the in-the-paint drives to long-range jumpers. Well, all that changed in Game 5.

He drove to the basket like his life depended on it in the third quarter and the Pacers simply couldn't guard him. The Pacers were outscored 17-32 in the third period, allowing the Cavaliers to turn a 7-point deficit into an 8-point lead after 36 minutes. Where it all opened up were the first six minutes, when Cleveland went on a 19-3 run with LeBron scoring or assisting on 17 of those 19 points (other two being free-throws by Kyle Korver).