The Indiana Pacers came one shot away from upsetting the No. 2 seeded Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday in Game 1 of their first round series, but a C.J. Miles jumper at the buzzer came up short and the Cavs escaped with a 109-108 win.
Miles was the one to take the shot because the Cavs were aggressive in double-teaming Paul George at the top of the key, 35-feet from the basket. LeBron James closed out hard and helped J.R. Smith force George to pass. However, Miles had a few seconds to work with and George ran back towards the ball with only James covering him.
While Miles ended up getting a decent look, with the game George was having, the Cavs were happy to take their chances with any of the other four on the floor – James even said as much in his postgame interview.
After the game, George felt that should’ve been his shot, and said he had a conversation with Miles about how he needed to look to get the ball back to him after the initial double forced George to pass.
Paul George: "I talked to CJ about that. In situations like that, I've got to get the last shot."
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) April 15, 2017
George is by far the Pacers best player and it’s understandable that he would demand to get the ball back in that moment. He had 29 points on the game including an insane 6-for-8 game from three-point range. However, for Miles, knowing the clock is winding down, it’s a difficult situation to be in, having just seen George getting trapped and knowing they have to get some kind of shot off.
The Pacers need to steal at least one game in Cleveland to win the series and stun the defending champs. Saturday afternoon might have been the best chance they’ll get all series to do so, and George won’t be happy that he wasn’t the game’s fate was taken out of his hands.
