Preview: Cavaliers at Pacers

[February 08, 2017]  The Indiana Pacers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA and attempt to extend their season-best winning streak to eight games when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Indiana is a sizzling 20-6 at home after Monday's 93-90 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder while the Cavaliers are 13-10 on the road.

The Pacers played superb defense over the last four games, holding each opponent under 100 while giving up an average of 89.8 points. Second-year center Myles Turner typically is a prime factor in any stellar Indiana defensive performance and he recorded 14 blocked shots and 12 steals during the winning streak. Cleveland posted a 140-135 road overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday and won five of its past six games. Power forward Kevin Love (39 points) and small forward LeBron James (32 points, career-best 17 assists) each had stellar outings in the victory.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Indiana

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (35-13): The rumors about Cleveland trying to acquire New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony refuse to die, and James vehemently ripped a report in the New York Daily News that claimed he was pushing the organization to give up Love and make the trade. "Yeah, I saw it. I saw it and heard about it," James told reporters. "It was -- it's trash. And the guy who wrote it is trash, too, for writing that. ... It's always about outside noise, and that's just outside noise for us. We've got to focus on what needs to be done in order for us to continue to compete for a championship, and we've got who we've got." James and Anthony are close friends and the Knicks seem intent on trading Anthony prior to the Feb. 23 trading deadline.

ABOUT THE PACERS (29-22): The contest with the defending world champions is crucial for Indiana as it tries to display that it is a true Eastern Conference contender. The Pacers have been up-and-down most of the season but the current sustained run would receive solid punctuation with a victory over the Cavaliers. "This is what we're going to be facing the rest of the season," Indiana coach Nate McMillan said after the Oklahoma City victory. "Most of the teams that we're going to be playing are going to be teams that are in the playoff race, certainly this week. That atmosphere that we played in (Monday night), we can expect this for the rest of the season."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Pacers won 12 of their past 13 regular-season home games against the Cavaliers, including a 103-93 victory on Nov. 16.

2. Cleveland SG Iman Shumpert (sprained left ankle) was injury Monday and sported a boot after the game -- X-rays were negative.

3. Indiana All-Star F Paul George scored 21 points versus Oklahoma City and reached 20 points in nine of the past 11 games.

PREDICTION: Pacers 109, Cavaliers 106

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