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A late push the by the Indiana Pacers fell short in the face of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading to their season ending in Game 7. The Pacers struggled early, but worked themselves back in the game in the third quarter to take a brief lead.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were unable to capitalize on a brief stretch James sat to start the fourth, leading the Cavs to turn a two point lead into a 12-point one five minutes into the quarter. The Pacers fought back to within four, but costly misses, costly fouls, and costly turnovers awarded extra opportunities for Cleveland to close out the win.
The Pacers were led by Victor Oladipo with 30 points and 12 rebounds, playing big in the second half, but did miss a pair of late attempts that could’ve kept the heat on the Cavs. A woeful first half was propped up by Darren Collison, who finished with 23.