Raptors will wait as Pacers pound Cavaliers to force Game 7

The Indiana Pacers will force LeBron James to go the distance to remain unbeaten in first-round series.

Behind Victor Oladipo's 28 points and first career post-season triple-double, the Pacers sent the series back to Cleveland and pushed the defending Eastern Conference champions to the brink of an early exit and a possible summer of unrest with a 121-87 rout on Friday night.

"I just went out there and played. I did everything with confidence. I just played read and react," Oladipo said. "This game is over. It means absolutely nothing right now."

If he can play that way one more time, the Pacers could reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.

History not on Pacers' side

History does not bode well for the Pacers. James is 12-0 all-time in first-round series and home teams have a major advantage in Game 7.

But the Pacers have defied the odds all season and this series has been no exception.

Their Game 1 victory, in Cleveland, ended James' record-setting, 21-game winning streak in the first round.

In Game 6, Indiana handed the Cavs their first loss in a closeout game in 14 tries dating to 2009 and ended James' 11-game winning streak in closeout games.

It wasn't even close.

Old-school post-season basketball

While James finished with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds, coach Tyronn Lue opted to keep four of his five starters including James on the bench for the entire fourth quarter because Cleveland trailed by 25.

"They just took it to us [in the third]," James said. "They made shots. We missed shots. We didn't counter what they were doing defensively or offensively and it just turned the game wide open."

Indiana did it by playing old-school post-season basketball — hard, aggressive and relentless.

It showed.

Kevin Love hurt his left wrist on a hard fall midway through the second quarter and wound up scoring just seven points while shooting 3 of 10 from the field. Lue provided no injury update after the game.

James took a shot, too, cutting the side of his left eye when he ran into Thaddeus Young's elbow on a drive late in the first half. No foul was called. James continued to play with a large bandage and needed stitches after the game to close the gash.

"I thought they really played fast and tried to attack us early," Lue said. "I don't even remember [what happened to start the second half]. I really don't. It happened so quickly."

Cavs never get into a groove

But the biggest difference was Oladipo, who had struggled mightily against the Cavs' relentless defence the previous four games.

This time, he relaxed and got his teammates back in sync on a night he finished with 13 rebounds, 10 assists, went 11 of 19 from the field and 6 of 8 on 3s.

It was enough to keep the Pacers in charge most of the game.

"This was probably the most complete game we've played," Lance Stephenson said. "We got the lead and they never got back into a groove. We played smart basketball. We played lockdown defence, and I think the biggest part was we fed off their mistakes."

The Cavs never led after the Pacers used a 12-2 run to erase a 22-17 first-quarter deficit.

They led 57-47 at halftime, extended the margin to 92-67 after three and led by as much as 36 before closing it out.

Jazz beat Thunder, set for Rockets

Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points and the Utah Jazz held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-91 in Game 6 on Friday night to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Russell Westbrook had 46 points for the Thunder and Steven Adams added 19 points and 16 rebounds.

The rookie and the MVP went back and forth in the second half, with Mitchell and the Jazz moving on to face the top-seeded Houston Rockets in a series that starts Sunday.

Derrick Favors scored 13 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost starting point guard Ricky Rubio to a left hamstring injury in the first quarter.

The Jazz took their biggest lead when Gobert hit two free throws to make it 86-73 with 7:04 remaining.

Westbrook's 3-pointer capped an 18-6 run and drew Oklahoma City to 92-91 with 1:28 to play.