Pacers stun LeBron, Cavaliers

Victor Oladipo scored 32 points and the Indiana Pacers held off Cleveland’s secondhalf rally for a stunning 98-80 victory Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.

Indiana was in control from the outset, opening a 21-point lead in the first quarter and leading by 23 in the third. The Cavs stormed back and got within seven, but Oladipo hit a big 3-pointer and Bojan Bogdanovic helped put Cleveland away with a 3 to make it 88-71.

The Pacers completely outplayed the three-time defending conference champions, whose turbulent regular season has carried over into the playoffs. Game 2 is Wednesday night. James scored 24 with 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his 20th career triple-double. But James got little help as Cleveland’s four other starters - Kevin Love, Jeff Green, Rodney Hood and George Hill - combined for 25 points.

This is all new to James, who had won 21 consecutive firstround games and lost a postseason for the first time in his 13th playoffs. The 33year-old is trying to get to his eighth straight Finals, and already the path is tougher than imagined.