INDIANAPOLIS _ Coach Tyronn Lue challenged his Cavaliers on Wednesday, unusual only in that it came after a victory.
"I need to see more out of a lot of guys," Lue said.
He remarked to all within earshot that he was angry as he left Quicken Loans Arena after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Indiana Pacers. Because even while LeBron James scored 46 points, the rest of the Cavs played poorly.
That night, one media member referred to the Cavs as "LeBron James and the Seven Dwarfs" on ESPN radio.
Then Friday on multiple ESPN programs, it was debated whether his supporting cast was the worst in James' 11 years in Cleveland. The previous three seasons wouldn't qualify, since James was part of a Big Three that included Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, traded to the Boston Celtics in August. But the failure to build the roster around James was a serious bone of contention for James when he left for Miami in 2010, so the suggestion was a significant slight to the 2017-18 Cavs.
On Friday morning at shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, James sat alone in a chair at the corner of the baseline, waiting for the session to begin. Like the rest of Cavs fans around the world, James had to be wondering what was in store a few hours later.
Cavs not named James apparently got the message, whether it was from Lue, radio or television.
Perhaps they picked up on the figurative jeers coming on social media. Perhaps they decided James deserved better.
But Wednesday night's Game 3 was much different, even though the Cavs still couldn't put away the Pacers, suffering a 92-90 loss.
The Cavs played like a team. They didn't languish in the shadows while James dominated. They came through with big baskets in the third quarter when James struggled.
Even though the Cavs opened a 17-point second-quarter lead, the Pacers went ahead 81-77 on a Bojan Bogdanovic 4-point play with 6:10 go. It was the Pacers' first lead since midway through the first quarter. The primary defender on James, Bogdanovic poured in 30 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, as the Pacers took a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Indianapolis.
The Pacers pushed their edge on the Cavs this season to 5-2. The Cavs lost twice in Indianapolis during the regular season, losing by four and two, both before General Manager Koby Altman blew up the Cavs' roster at the trade deadline. Every game against the Pacers has been a struggle and, led by Victor Oladipo in his breakout season, the Pacers might be primed to pull off the most stunning upset of the first round.
On the one-year anniversary of the Cavs' Game 3 rally from a 26-point deficit for a five-point victory in the first round against the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Pacers turned the tables. But even though the Cavs lost, it was a balanced effort that they can build on Sunday.
Lue said before the tipoff that his pre-game message was "Attack," and Indianapolis native and former Pacer George Hill must have been listening. Hill scored nine of Cavs' first 12 points after totaling 13 in first two games and had more points than James (eight) at the first break. It was quite a contrast from Wednesday, when Hill played 20 minutes and fouled out with six points.
The second unit, which looked like the moment was too big for them in the first two games, allowed James to rest the first 5:50 of the second quarter and let the Pacers cut only one point off the Cavs' lead.
Rodney Hood came up with two huge baskets in the final five minutes of the third quarter, briefly staving off the Pacers' attempt to seize control.
Kyle Korver dove into the seats twice in the fourth quarter going after loose balls and hit the deck another time.
But the Cavs were unable to sustain their level of performance and intensity for 48 minutes. Ahead 57-40 at halftime, they made only two of their first eight shots in the third quarter with two turnovers as the Pacers cut the advantage to eight.
By the end of the quarter the lead was down to six. The Cavs scored just 12 points in the quarter on 5-for-19 shooting, going 1 of 10 from 3-point range. That is what ultimately doomed the visitors.
Together with a healthy roster for just the third game this season, the Cavs couldn't solve all their problems against the Pacers. But the "Seven Dwarfs" proved they have pride, that they have the skills to support their superstar, even though they couldn't give James enough help in the final minutes.
It was a timely message in defeat, just like Lue's previous comment in victory.
