Pacers Rout Cavs 106-77
The veteran Indiana Pacers gave the young Cleveland Cavaliers a rapid lesson in playoff intensity.
"These guys have been ready to play for two or three days. ... They're excited that the playoffs are finally here after a long season," Indiana coach Larry Bird said after his team coasted to a 106-77 victory Thursday night."They came out, they were very professional about it and just took care of business the way they had to."
Chris Mullin, back in the playoffs for the first time since 1994, led the Pacers with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Reggie Miller had 11 of his 19 points in the first quarter when Indiana took the lead for good.
Cleveland trailed 31-18 after the opening quarter, and Indiana led by at least nine points the rest of the way to improve to 26-0 this season when scoring at least 100 points.
"The bottom line is they beat us up in every aspect," said Cleveland coach Mike Fratello, who saw the Pacers shoot 69 percent (11-of-16) in each of the first two periods."I don't know if we could have made it much easier. They probably would like to have every game like that where they're standing by themselves."
The loss was the worst for the Cavaliers this season and the second worst in their playoff history. The only worse playoff loss was by 31 (122-91) against Boston in the 1992 Eastern Conference semifinals.
"We are a veteran club that understands what it takes to advance in the playoffs," Miller said."Father time is catching up to a lot of guys in our lockerroom. We just want to get it going."
The Cavaliers, who like Indiana missed the playoffs last year, will have a chance to even the series Saturday afternoon before the action switches to Cleveland on Monday night.
But based upon the Pacers' experience and the Cavs' lack of it, it will take some major adjustments to turn this into a competitive series.
Shawn Kemp and Zydrunas Ilgauskas provided most of the offense for the Cavaliers. Kemp scored 25, but needed 22 shots to reach the figure. Ilgauskas had 16 on 7-of-11 shooting.
Wesley Person, who averaged 14.7 points in the season, failed to score in 19 minutes as he missed all four of his shots from the field. Cavs point guard Brevin Knight managed only three points.
In all, Indiana's backcourt outscored Cleveland's 45-11.
"They just took us out on both ends of the floor. We never got in a rhythm and it frustrated us," Person said.
A 3-pointer by Miller broke the game's final tie, giving Indiana a 10-7 lead. After a three-point play by Kemp cut Cleveland's deficit to 24-18, Indiana scored the final seven points of the opening quarter, starting with a jumper and free throw by Miller with 2:05 to go.
Miller then stole the ball from Vitaly Potapenko and was fouled. He made one free throw, ad Jalen Rose kept the rally going with a layup on a fast break after Derrick McKey blocked Kemp's shot.
Cleveland pulled within nine points three times in the second quarter, the last at 44-35 with 3:45 left in the half. Indiana responded with a 16-4 run with the help of consecutive 3-pointers by Mullin. Miller had five points in the run, including two free throws that put the Pacers up 60-39.
The Cavaliers never drew closer than 16 in the second half.
Indiana built its lead to as many as 31 in the fourth quarter despite having its reserves on the court.
NOTES:
Indiana has a major advantage in playoff experience. Rookie Mark Pope is the only member of the Pacers who hasn't been in the playoffs. The Cavs start three rookies and have four on the roster. Of the starting five, Indiana had a 243-93 advantage in playoff game experience.
Rik Smits made his first start since March 27, having missed seven games with sore feet. He came off the bench for four games before missing the regular season finale.
The teams split their four regular-season games, with each team winning twice at home.
Mark Jackson had 10 assists for Indiana to become the team's career playoff leader. He began the night needing nine to catch teammate Haywoode Workman, who has been on the injured list for most of the past two years.
It was the second-worst loss of Fratello's playoff career. He was coach of the Atlanta Hawks when they lost to Boston by 33 in second in 1986.
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