INDIANAPOLIS _ Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue knows there is no easy fix for all his team's problems.
But considering the Cavs had lost six of eight going into Friday's finale of a five-game road trip against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and had been blown out in the last two, Lue won't argue with a better effort that felt like progress.
The Cavs came out engaged and jumped out to a 22-point first-quarter lead. In the second half, fatigue and a determined effort by the Pacers seemingly caught up with the oldest team in the league.
A last-gasp chance for victory ended with a LeBron James turnover with 1.7 seconds left as the Pacers rallied for a 97-95 victory.
The Cavs (26-16) finished the trip 1-4 and host the defending champion Golden State Warriors Monday night. They hit just 7 of 34 from 3-point range.
Indiana (21-21) won for the third time in the last nine games.
With the game nip and tuck in the fourth quarter, James was called for a technical foul for shoving old nemesis Lance Stephenson with a forearm to the chest with 7:53 to play.
After Victor Oladipo hit the resulting free throw for an 84-82 Pacers lead, Kevin Love canned a 3 and James scored two consecutive field goals as the Cavs went back ahead, 89-84.
But the Pacers would not be vanquished so easily, going ahead on a 3-pointer by Oladipo with 2:10 remaining.
The Cavs missed three consecutive field goals, one by Jose Calderon and two by James, but still had a chance to pull out a victory when Love rebounded an Oladipo miss and the Cavs called timeout with 5.5 seconds to go.
Jeff Green inbounded the ball to James, who stepped out of bounds as he drove to the basket against Darren Collison with 1.7 seconds remaining. The turnover was confirmed by a video review.
After a Collison free throw with 1.4 seconds to go, James got off a desperation heave that would have won it, but the shot hit the rim.
James finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, and Love had 21 points and nine rebounds.
Collison led five Pacers in double figures with 22 points, Oladipo had 19 points and Stephenson had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pacers improved to 3-0 in the season series, including a 106-102 victory in Indianapolis on Dec. 8 that snapped the Cavs' franchise-tying 13-game winning streak.
This Cavs team was a disjointed mess compared to that one as they integrate Tristan Thompson and Isaiah Thomas, who sat out against the Pacers because he has not been cleared to play both nights of a back-to-back. The Cavs also played Friday without Dwyane Wade, who turns 36 Wednesday. Wade was given a "vets day" of rest.
During Thursday night's 133-99 loss at Toronto that was the Cavs' worst setback of the season, James stressed accountability when he took over the huddle during a second-quarter timeout, while Lue said afterward that players had to put aside their personal agendas.
They played as if they got the message, at least in the first half.
When Calderon hit a jumper to give the Cavs a 4-2 advantage, it marked the Cavs' first lead in a span of 98 minutes. With the Pacers leading 6-4, the Cavs went on a 22-0 run to go ahead 26-6. James had two massive slams and a spinning layup among his eight points in the surge, while Love added four points, Calderon and J.R. Smith each had a 3-pointer and Jae Crowder a field goal.
The run seemed to be the perfect illustration of playing for each other, which the Cavs said had been lost during their 2-6 stretch.
The Cavs hit 10 of their first 14 field goals and finished the quarter 13 of 22 without a turnover. The Pacers made just 6 of 22 with six turnovers.
The Pacers crawled back into the game by finishing the second quarter with a 15-7 run, but still trailed 58-44 at the break.
Then fatigue may have kicked in for the Cavs, who have played only one home game since Christmas.
