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The Indiana Pacers will force LeBron James to go the distance to remain unbeaten in first-round series.

Behind Victor Oladipo’s 28 points and first career postseason triple-double Authentic Kody Clark Jersey , the Pacers sent the series back to Cleveland and pushed the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of an early exit and a possible summer of unrest with a 121-87 rout on Friday night.

”I just went out there and played. I did everything with confidence. I just played read and react,” Oladipo said. ”This game is over. It means absolutely nothing right now.”

If he can play that way one more time, the Pacers could reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.

History does not bode well for the Pacers. James is 12-0 all-time in first-round series and home teams have a major advantage in Game 7.

But the Pacers have defied the odds all season and this series has been no exception.

Their Game 1 victory, in Cleveland, ended James’ record-setting, 21-game winning streak in the first round.

In Game 6, Indiana handed the Cavs their first loss in a closeout game in 14 tries dating to 2009 and ended James’ 11-game winning streak in closeout games.

It wasn’t even close.

While James finished with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds, coach Tyronn Lue opted to keep four of his five starters including James on the bench for the entire fourth quarter because Cleveland trailed by 25.

”They just took it to us (in the third),” James said. ”They made shots. We missed shots. We didn’t counter what they were doing defensively or offensively and it just turned the game wide open.”

Indiana did it by playing old-school postseason basketball – hard, aggressive and relentless.

It showed.

Kevin Love hurt his left wrist on a hard fall midway through the second quarter and wound up scoring just seven points while shooting 3 of 10 from the field. Lue provided no injury update after the game.

James took a shot, too Nate Thompson Jersey , cutting the side of his left eye when he ran into Thaddeus Young’s elbow on a drive late in the first half. No foul was called. James continued to play with a large bandage and needed stitches after the game to close the gash.

”I thought they really played fast and tried to attack us early,” Lue said. ”I don’t even remember (what happened to start the second half). I really don’t. It happened so quickly.”

But the biggest difference was Oladipo, who had struggled mightily against the Cavs’ relentless defense the previous four games.

This time, he relaxed and got his teammates back in sync on a night he finished with 13 rebounds, 10 assists, went 11 of 19 from the field and 6 of 8 on 3s.

It was enough to keep the Pacers in charge most of the game.

”This was probably the most complete game we’ve played,” Lance Stephenson said. ”We got the lead and they never got back into a groove. We played smart basketball. We played lockdown defense, and I think the biggest part was we fed off their mistakes.”

The Cavs never led after the Pacers used a 12-2 run to erase a 22-17 first-quarter deficit.

They led 57-47 at halftime, extended the margin to 92-67 after three and led by as much as 36 before closing it out.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: The 34-point margin was Cleveland’s worst playoff loss since James returned for his second stint with the team. … Cleveland has only lost eight playoff games against the East since 2015 – three in this series. … Jeff Green scored 13 points and Rodney Hood had 12 as the Cavs committed 15 turnovers and were 12 of 38 on 3s.

Pacers: Have not lost three straight games since snapping a five-game skid in early January. … Indiana has been eliminated by James’ teams in four of its last six playoff appearances. … The Pacers produced their highest point total in the series Friday. … Seven players scored in double figures: Domantas Sabonis had 19, Darren Collison had 15, Stephenson had 12 and Bojan Bogdanovic and Young each had 10.

FINAL CHAPTER?

James was asked after the game if he had given any thought to the possibility Sunday’s game could be his last in Cleveland.

”No, no Vikings Authentic Jerseys ,” James said. ”The thought that if we don’t play well this will be my last game of the year, that will probably hit my mind. But, um, I haven’t thought about (the future).”

James is expected to become a free agent this summer and many believe he could leave his hometown team for the second time in his career.

CALL IT AS THEY SEE IT

Pacers coach Nate McMillan artfully dodged a pregame question about whether he thought James generally received the benefit of the doubt on most close calls.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett did not.

Hogsett signed an executive order declaring that ”unlike some cities, goaltending remains an illegal action in the game of basketball – for all players, on all teams, without exception.” The proclamation continued: ”Indiana is the center of the basketball universe, and sometimes that means we have an obligation to stand up and defend the basic rules of the game.”

It was an obvious shot at the call the NBA acknowledged was missed with 3 seconds left in Game 5.

HILL’S BATTLE

Cavaliers point guard George Hill missed his third straight game but does appear to be on the mend. He participated in the Cavs’ morning shootaround, with a wrap around his injured back. And he participated in a pregame workout before he was deactivated.

Just 90 minutes before game time, Lue still did

Already the owner of two American League Most Valuable Player awards by age 25, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout is showing there’s always room for improvement.

Trout is having the best offensive month of his major-league career heading into the second game of a four-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

The Angels (40-35) won the series opener 8-5 on Thursday night at Angel Stadium, getting two home runs from Luis Valbuena and another from Kole Calhoun for the second straight game.

Trout went 0-for-2 but drew three walks and scored two runs against the Blue Jays (34-40).

Trout is hitting .433 in June with five home runs and 12 RBIs. His on-base percentage rose to .471 for the season.

Trout’s previous best batting average for a month was .392 in July of 2012 Doug Flutie Jersey , his first full season in the majors. He also had 10 home runs and 23 RBIs during that stretch.

A big difference in Trout’s game this season has been his walk-to-strikeout ratio. He had 12 walks and 21 strikeouts in July 2012 but has 17 walks and 13 strikeouts so far this month.

“I’m just trying to look for my pitch, and if it’s not there, I’m just taking my walks,” Trout told reporters earlier this week. “For me, if I try to expand the strike zone, that’s when I get in trouble.”

Trout has also done well in his career against Toronto’s scheduled starter on Friday night, Marco Estrada. Trout is 4-for-10 with two home runs off the right-hander.

Estrada (4-6, 4.66 ERA) will try to stay on a roll after winning his past two starts. He went eight consecutive outings without earning a win before this latest stretch.

His last start may have been his best of the season. He threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win on Saturday against the visiting Washington Nationals, out-dueling right-hander Max Scherzer, who leads the National League with 10 wins.

Estrada faced the visiting Angels during his winless stretch four weeks ago and surrendered four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. Toronto went on to lose 8-1.

Estrada is 1-2 in his career against the Angels with a 6.95 ERA, his highest against any AL team.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols is 4-for-10 in his career against Estrada, and shortstop Andrelton Simmons is 6-for-12.

“For four years now http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dj-moore-jersey , every single day, when Marco Estrada’s time comes around, he gives all he has,” Toronto second baseman Devon Travis told Sportsnet after the win against the Nationals last weekend.

Angels starter Andrew Heaney was matched against Estrada in his only career appearance against the Blue Jays and it didn’t go well for the left-hander. He gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings of the 15-3 loss in Anaheim on Aug. 22, 2015.

Heaney (3-5, 3.64) was in line to win his last outing after allowing three runs and three hits in eight innings against the Oakland A’s on Sunday, but the bullpen gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth before Oakland won in the 11th.

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