Tip-off: Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

The Cavaliers will be going for their fifth straight victory when they face the Pacers on Wednesday.

Cleveland has been playing very well lately and most recently defeated Milwaukee 109-80 as a 9.5-point road favorite on Tuesday. The Cavaliers have now won-and-covered in four straight games and five of their past six as well. Cleveland has been scorching hot offensively over the past two games, shooting 54% or better in each contest. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off of a 92-87 victory as seven-point road favorites against the Knicks on Sunday. Indiana has won two straight games, but the team has lost five of its past seven ATS. Cleveland has gotten the best of Indiana on the season, going 3-0 SU in three meetings between the teams. The Pacers were, however, 3-0 ATS in those contests. They’re also 4-1 SU and 5-0 ATS when hosting the Cavaliers over the past three seasons. One trend worth pointing out is that Cleveland is an impressive 10-3 ATS after allowing 80 points or less over the past three seasons. SF Paul George (Ankle) is the only player listed on the injury report for this game, but he is probable for this one. The Cavaliers could, however, opt to rest their starters on any given night.

The Cavaliers are getting hot at the right time and SF LeBron James (25.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.4 SPG) has been playing extremely well for his team. Over the past three games, James is averaging 25.7 PPG, 10.0 APG, 9.7 RPG and 1.7 SPG. He’s shooting 57.9% from the floor in those contests and the team needs him to keep playing an efficient brand of basketball moving forward. James needs to play hard on both ends of the floor on Wednesday, though. If he can win his matchup with Paul George then there’s not much of a chance of Cleveland losing this one. PF Kevin Love (16.0 PPG, 9.9 RPG) will also be important in this game. Love has been playing very well for the Cavaliers lately, averaging 17.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 2.6 APG over the past five contests. He is shooting 50.0% from the field and 45.9% from the outside in those games and if he can keep that up then Cleveland will be extremely tough to beat in the postseason. This is the Love that the Cavaliers thought they were acquiring a year ago and his play is making things a lot easier on James.

If the Pacers are going to come away with a victory over the Cavaliers then SF Paul George (23.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.9 SPG) is going to need to get hot for Indiana. George has played well recently, averaging 22.4 PPG and 9.0 RPG on 44.2% shooting from the floor. He is, however, averaging just 22.0 PPG on 40.4% shooting in three games against Cleveland this season. George needs to be more efficient offensively and he’ll also need to contain LeBron James on Wednesday. Another guy who will need to come to play for the Pacers is SG Monta Ellis (14.0 PPG, 4.7 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.9 SPG). Ellis is averaging just 12.6 PPG over the past five contests and Indiana is counting on him to do more. Ellis should, however, be able to find some success on Wednesday. He is averaging 22.3 PPG in three meetings with Cleveland this season and the Cavaliers do not have any shooting guards with the speed to stick with him.