Indiana Pacers Look To Avenge Loss Against Cleveland Cavaliers

The Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers will be at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday to face off against the Indiana Pacers.

The last time these two teams met, it was in Cleveland taking the 'W', as the Pacers fell just short of a huge road win, losing 101-97. In that game, fans got to see an amazing duel between LeBron James and Paul George. George recorded a double-double, as he posted 32 points and 11 rebounds. LeBron scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, which helped boost them to the win. One positive from the Pacers in that game was the productivity of Monta Ellis and George. They combined to score over half of the Pacers points that night.

Both teams will look a little different when they meet tonight in Indianapolis. First of all, the Indiana Pacers have changed their starting lineup, so now Myles Turner is the starting power forward in place of Lavoy Allen. The Pacers are 2-0 with their new Turner-including starting lineup.

Also, in the last matchup, the Pacers were without C.J. Miles and Joe Young.

Last time the Cavaliers and Pacers played, David Blatt was still the head coach for the Cavs. When they face off tonight, Cleveland's head coach will be Tyronn Lue. The Cavaliers fired Blatt, even with the team having a 30-11 record at the time. The Cavs were also without some key players last meeting, such as starting point guard Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, who is a very good player that comes off the Cavs bench, and also J.R. Smith.

One of the Pacers' biggest troubles in the last matchup with the Cavaliers was containing Kevin Love. He ended up finishing the game with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Knowing Love played that well last time against the Pacers means Myles Turner and the other Pacers bigs will have to be really solid on defense. Indiana starting center Ian Mahinmi to help out Turner on Love. However, Mahinmi is listed as questionable with a sore back.

Both teams are coming in to this matchup with some momentum. The Cavaliers are on a four-game winning streak, having beaten the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs in their last four contests. The Indiana Pacers are coming into the game winners of their last two. They have beaten the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets, and are looking to add the Cavaliers to that list on Monday night.