Final score: Cavs fall 103-93 to Indiana Pacers without LeBron James

The Cavaliers lost their second game of the season Wednesday night falling 103-93 to the Indiana Pacers. The games comes a night after a hard fought win against the Toronto Raptors and the Cavs were without the services of both LeBron James and JR Smith. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving did their best to secure the win but the supporting cast was not up for the task.

The Pacers soundly won the game after taking an early lead while Kyrie Irving picked up two quick fouls. The Cavs were outmatched in the first quarter, falling being 30-19 after the opening frame, and never found their footing. The Cavs did close the gap to just 5 by halftime but the Pacers tightened their grip in the third and never relinquished the lead.

The highlight of the game for Cleveland had to be the play of Kevin Love. The former UCLA Bruin’s excellent season continued as he lead the team in points and rebounds tallying an impressive 27-16 on the night while looking like the Cavaliers best player in LeBron’s absence. Kevin has endured a lot of criticism since his acquisition from Minnesota and it has been amazing to see him play so well this year.

Losing the 2nd night of a home/road back-to-back is not exactly something worth reading too much into but the game did highlight a roster weakness for the Cavs. With both of the teams starting wings unavailable the Cavaliers were forced to rely on contributions from DeAndre Liggins, Jordan McRae and Kay Felder. These are players that no team with championship aspirations should reasonably expect contributions from. Jordan McRae had a particularly rough game as he was a black hole on offense and rarely made the shots he took. The Cavaliers lack of depth is not a new concern, but this game is representative of why Cleveland’s wing situation is an area of need for the defending champs.

The Cavs are back in action Friday when they take on the Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena.