CLEVELAND, OH -- The Indiana Pacers came into the Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland, Ohio) looking to possibly get a win against one of the best Eastern Conference teams, but they ended up barely falling short in the end. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended up winning the game by a score of 101-97.

Pacers are now 3-4 on the season, meanwhile, the Cavs are 6-1. Indiana dropped from 7th to 9th in the Eastern Conference standings, but they are just a half game behind the 8th spot Washington Wizards. Indiana is in a 3-way tie for the 8th best record in the East between the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks.

This game was close the entire way for both sides. Neither team managed to really keep a large lead.without the other team coming right back on a run of their own. In fact, there were a total of 19 lead changes and 14 ties in this game. This game truly came down to the wire, but the Pacers simply couldn't get superior late game execution to win.

Both teams played their closest quarter in the opening quarter. Neither team led by more than 3 points at any point of this quarter, also, there were 8 lead changes and 5 ties. Paul George led the way with 9 points and 5 rebounds, Ellis was a key component with his 7 points as well. Cleveland held a 24-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Pacers continued to stay with the Cavaliers during the second quarter. there were 8 lead changes and 5 ties. This was another close quarter for both teams. The Cavaliers held a 5 point lead at the half, which happened to also be the largest lead of the second quarter. Cleveland owned a 47-42 lead at the end of the first half. Paul George had 15 points and 7 rebounds at the half.

Cleveland had the first double-digit lead of the game during the third quarter. There were 5 lead changes and 4 ties during this quarter. The Cavs had an 11 point lead at one point, which was the largest lead of the quarter, but also the largest lead of the game. Indiana made a late run to close the quarter. The Pacers trailed the Cavaliers by just 1 point (73-74) at the conclusion of the third quarter. Paul George had 25 points and 8 rebounds, Monta Ellis had 20 points and 4 rebounds after three quarters.

The fourth quarter saw fewer lead changes and ties, but the Pacers still kept it air tight in the end. In fact, there were just 2 lead changes and 1 tie during the closing quarter. Indiana was in the lead 90-88 with 4:11 left in the game, but that was the last lead they would have for the rest of the game. With 3:47 remaining, Cleveland tied the game at 90-90, but then quickly took a 92-90 lead 31 seconds later.

Cleveland extended their late lead to 5 points with (95-90) with 1:37 left to play. Monta Ellis made two free throws to cut the Cleveland lead to 3 points, but the Pacers allowed Kevin Love to make a layup and that pushed the Cavs' lead back to 5 points again. The Cavaliers were leading 97-92 with 27 seconds left.

Paul George made a step-back 3-pointer to cut the Cavaliers' lead to 97-95 with around 18 seconds left in the game. Indiana tried a full court press, but just barely missed out on forcing an 8-second violation. Cleveland was able to get an easy after crossing half-court, which gave them a 99-95 lead.

George Hill made a mid-range jump shot off of a Paul George assist to reduce the deficit to 99-97. There was around 6 seconds left in the game at this point, Indiana needed to force a turnover if they were to win the game. Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were unable to steal the pass. Instead, they were forced to foul LeBron James and he made two free throws to seal the game. Cleveland won the game 101-97.

Both teams were missing key players today. Indiana was without Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles because of injury. The Cavaliers were without Kyrie Injury, Iman Shumpert, and J.R. Smith. A healthy rematch should be a very intruiging matchup in the future. These two teams could meet up in the playoffs, but before then they will play each other a few more times in the regular season.

Indiana Pacers - Cleveland Cavaliers Highlights (11/8/15):

Paul George was the top performer for the Pacers, he recorded; 32 PTS (11-21 FGM-A, 3-6 3PM-A, 7-8 FTM-A), 11 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 5 PF, +5 (+/-), and 39 MIN.

Monta Ellis was the second leading scorer, in fact, he was just one of three players to score in double-digits for the Pacers. He had: 25 PTS (10-17 FGM-A, 2-4 3PM, 3-4 FTM-A), 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PF, -6 (+/-), and 34 MIN.

George Hill was the other double-digit scorer for the Pacers, he recorded: 14 PTS (6-16 FGM-A, 0-5 3PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A), 5 REB, 5 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 2 PF, -6 (+/-), and 40 MIN.

LeBron James led the way for the Cavs, he had: 29 PTS (10-23 FGM-A, 0-3 3PM-A, 9-14 FTM-A), 6 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 0 PF, +1 (+/-), and 35 MIN.

Kevin Love almost had a 20+ point, 20+ rebound game. He had: 22 points (9-18 FGM-A, 2-6 3PM-A, 2-2 FTM-A), 19 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3 BLK, 2 TO, 3 PF, +14 (+/-), and 39 MIN.

Tristan Thompson had a near double-double perforrmance, he had: 16 PTS (7-8 FGM-A, 0-0 3PM-A, 2-4 FTM-A), 8 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 PF, +6 (+/-), and 30 MIN.

Mo Williams wasn't the main reason why the Cavaliers won, but he was a key piece: 10 PTS (4-15 FGM-A, 2-5 3PM-A, 0-0 FTM-A), 5 REB, 8 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 2 PF, +11 (+/-), and 30 MIN.

Mathew Dellavedova recorded the following; 5 PTS (2-3 FGM-A, 1-2 3PM-A, 0-0 FTM-A), 3 REB, 9 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 3 PF, -7 (+/-), and 33 MIN.

LeBron James - Paul George Highlights (11/8/15):

Indiana's team stats were: 39-90 (43.3%) FGM-A, 6-18 (33.3%) 3PM-A, 13-19 (68.4%) FTM-A, 12 OREB, 35 DREB, 45 REB, 22 AST, 5 STL, 4 BLK, 7 TO, and 20 PF. Other categories included: 9 fast break points, 36 points in the paint, 13 points allowed off of turnovers, 16 points scored off of turnovers.

Cleveland's team stats were: 38-83 (45.8%) FGM-A, 8-24 3PM (33.3%) 3PM-A, 17-25 (68.0%) FTM-A, 11 OREB, 37 DREB, 48 REB, 25 AST, 5 STL, 4 BLK, 10 TO, and 20 PF. Other categories included: 13 fast break points, 48 points in the paint, and 10 total turnovers.

The Indiana Pacers began the first night of their sequence of 3 games in 4 nights. This will be the third time that the Pacers have played 3 games in 4 nights. Next game, the Indiana Pacers play the Orlando Magic. Tip-off for this game is at 7:00 P.M. EST. Indiana is currently on the second game of a three games in four nights scenario.