Victor Oladipo Led The Pacers To An Emphatic Game 1 Win Over The Cavaliers

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One of the most highly-anticipated first-round matchups is the Pacers-Cavs series, in large part because it features a pair of old nemeses in LeBron James and Lance Stephenson.

And though those two long-time foes quickly rekindled their mutual antipathy, someone else stole the spotlight entirely. Victor Oladipo‘s rise to stardom has been one of the best stories of this NBA season, and his performance in a stunning Game 1 win for the Pacers on Sunday was a continuation of what has been stellar career resurgence.

Oladipo put up 16 points in the first half as Indiana raced out to a 20-point lead in the opening quarter, and he didn’t look back from there.

Early in the fourth quarter, after the Cavs came storming back and cut the lead to single digits, Dipo hit a huge three-pointer to widen the gap once again and prevent LeBron and company from feeling comfortable that they would be able to complete a comeback.

Cleveland was never able to fully recover, despite a triple double from LeBron James, who put up 24 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-17 from the field. The rest of the Cavs were just as bad, if not worse, shooting 38.5 percent from the field and a dismal 23.5 percent from three-point range.

Oladipo finished with 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-9 from behind the arc, to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. He put the finishing touches on the Pacers’ win with a strong drive for a layup and a three-pointer shortly after to seal the deal in a 98-80 win.

The Pacers take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2, which tips off at The Q in Cleveland on Wednesday.

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