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Pacers try to stay unbeaten versus Cavs

Nov 2, 2013 - 2:44 PM (Sports Network) - The Indiana Pacers will try to remain undefeated in this early season Saturday night when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Pacers bested the Orlando Magic by 10 on opening night, then came back and defeated the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday in the Big Easy.

Against the Pelicans, the Pacers outscored the opposition by 19 in the second half to seal the 95-90 victory.

"It was a big win for our team in a back to back," said Pacers head coach Frank Vogel. "We had to overcome some adversity. This is what our team has to do to win games on the road and take that next step."

Roy Hibbert picked up two quick fouls and only played five first-half minutes. He still finished with five blocks after seven in the season-opener against the Magic.

Paul George continued his awesome play from the postseason with 32 points against New Orleans. He is averaging 28.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 5.0 apg so far on the campaign.

George Hill added 19 points against the Pelicans, while Lance Stephenson had 16 and David West chipped in 12. The bench only accounted for 10 points.

Indiana is just one of two unbeaten teams in the East (76ers, 2-0).

Cleveland was aiming for a 2-0 start as well, but dropped a 90-84 decision at Charlotte on Friday night.

Tristan Thompson ended with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who started the season with a 98-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving tallied 22 and 16 points, respectively.

Cavs head coach Mike Brown wasn't too thrilled with the effort and his team was down 30-23 after 12 minutes. Seventeen turnovers didn't help and neither did a 38.1 percent clip from the floor.

"Our mental approach, from the beginning, has to be better. And right now, it's not good, especially to start the game," Brown said. "And we're getting too many 'my bads.' And when you get two or three 'my bads' from each individual, it adds up. Guys don't understand that, yeah, you can say 'my bad,' but we want to be a championship-level team. And we can't have 15 'my bads' in the first half."

The Cavs are in the midst of playing two straight and six of eight away from Quicken Loans Arena.

Indiana has won six straight against the Central Division-rival Cavs and 12 of the last 13 meetings. Indiana also has taken six in a row against Cleveland at home.