LeBron’s 41 points lead Cavs past Pacers, 135-130 in 2 OTs

The on-court issues have been obvious for weeks.

The Magic outplayed the Cavs in the first half and took a two-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

The champions are showing cracks – and weakness. He then left the locker room while LeBron was still talking to reporters, while Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith left what was described as a “stone quiet” locker room without speaking to reporters at all. The frightening part is that he averages just 3.8 rebounds per game and has just a 11.1 rebounding percentage. “Blame it on me”, he joked.

The Cavs tied things with 1:01 left when James took a baseline inbounds pass from Deron Williams with 1.9 seconds on the shot clock and hit a step-back jumper. Cleveland’s postseason run could be shorter than anyone expected. But they still had lapses in focus and execution, and Thompson was steaming mad after George hit a 3-pointer to pull the Pacers within 128-127 with 49 seconds left. However, the National Basketball Association center, and Khloe Kardashian‘s latest victim, isn’t going to have King James talk to him any kind of way.

Thompson’s answers were curt, programmed.

“Well that shows you that we care about our defense”, Lue said.

Miles had 27 points off the bench while Young went 9-13 with 19 points, but it was Ellis, with seven points on 3-8 shooting, who played more minutes than both.

Yikes. This does not sound good, Cavs fans. On Christmas Day, as the Cavs were struggling to contain Golden State sharpshooter Klay Thompson, James asked to switch onto the Warriors’ hot hand. In the first meeting, James carved up Orlando for 23 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Philadelphia’s Justin Anderson had knocked James to the deck just after the game started, so Irving two-hand shoved Anderson out of bounds with 10:41 left in the quarter. There was none of that love Sunday, with the postgame vibe subdued and odd.

After going 7-10 in March, when they played 12 road games, the Cavs are 3-0 in April.

Well, there may be some exposed nerves now. When it matters the most, the Cavs come away with win after win. “Paul George is a great player and he made some shifty moves and got open and made some big shots”.

James blamed the poor execution on a lack of practice.

DeRozan was 11 of 26 from the floor to register his 30th game of 30 points or more this season, tying Vince Carter’s 2000-01 franchise mark.

“It was fun, I know his game and he knows mine”, George said. “And I’m guarding PG the whole time, guarding him off pick-and-rolls, guarding him off triple pin-downs, guarding him off isolations, which he’s very good at”. The Cavs are a half-game back from the Celtics in first place in the Eastern Conference, and if they want a repeat of previous year, they need to come together as a unit.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could not stop Paul George. He’s had disagreements with teammates before, which is why he did all he could to diffuse tension afterward. “I think my will to do that is going to overcome all the fatigue”, Butler said. The Cavs visit the Celtics on Wednesday.

That’s for the future.

Charlotte had 18 steals against Oklahoma City, the most in a regular-season game for the Hornets since November 23, 2012, against Atlanta.

Chicago (38-39) Miami (37-40) IN (37-40) Charlotte (36-41) Detroit (35-42) The Bulls won’t play another playoff team until the playoffs, if they get IN.

Both James and George missed crucial free throws as well, James late in regulation, George in the first overtime.