Indiana Pacers let LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers off hook

Oladipo had company, what with Darren Collison and Bojan Bogdonovic combining to shoot 9-for-27, including 3-for-13 from the arc. Thaddeus Young grabbed 16 rebounds, but looked to be wearing oven mitts early when he missed three point-blank shots.

The Pacers handed out an arena’s worth of gold towels emblazoned with the word "Together" for fans to wave. But the team itself looked more disjointed and, aside from some solid offensive execution in the third, too willing to settle.

Whether it was overconfidence or just a really bad case of pinch-me nerves trying to put out in the first round a man who gets his mail forwarded to The Finals each June, Indiana has let Cleveland back not just into this series but the postseason.

Every game the Cavs survive and advance is another chance for playoff newbies such as Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr. to add a little experience, feel a bit more comfortable. Each of them had his moments Sunday, mostly in the first half.

And let’s not forget how James handled a similar predicament three years ago. Chicago had a chance in the East semifinals to go up 3-1 on the Cavs in Game 4 at United Center. This was a Cleveland team missing Kevin Love after his shoulder dislocation by Boston’s Kelly Olynyk, with Kyrie Irving already limping on his way to a knee fracture.

James vetoed a David Blatt play-call near the end, hit a dagger fadeaway from the left corner to slay the Bulls and, at the end of his back-to-Cleveland season, propelled a rag tag Cavs crew all the way to six games in the Finals.

Any potential parallels, then and now?

“I don’t know. It’s to be seen,” James said. “I mean, 3-1 is a huge deficit and you don’t ever want to go down 3-1 versus anybody, no matter if it’s first round or if you’re fortunate to get to The Finals. It’s just too difficult.”

Going up 3-1 proved to be too hard for the Pacers, who have only themselves to blame.

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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