LeBron James Refuses To Blame Cavaliers Teammates Following Game 3 Loss

LeBron James believes the whole team, including himself, need to be better following their Game 3 loss to the Indian Pacers on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were looking to take a series lead after pegging their first round series back to 1-1 with a James-inspired 100-97 win in Game 2 on Wednesday. It looked like they would do just that as they raced to a 17-point lead at halftime, holding a commanding 57-40 lead over the home side.

However, a poor second half performance, notably in the fourth quarter, saw the Pacers come back to win 92-90 and take a 2-1 series lead.

The defeat means the Cavaliers not only lost for the first time after a lead in the fourth quarter this season, but also lost for the first time after leading three quarters of a game, having previously gone 40-0 this season, both in the regular season and the playoffs.

"We had opportunities to still win," James said, according to Cleveland.com. "If we can make some shots and execute a little bit better down the stretch, it can be a different narrative, but another loss for us on the road. We just gotta be better."

James, who before the series never lost a first round game since 2012, finished the game with 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. However, he shot 10-for-22 with six turnovers as he refused to blame his teammates for not offering enough support.

Kevin Love's 19 points saw only three come in the second half, Kyle Korver missed all three of his shots, George Hill scored nine of his 13 points in the first quarter while Rodney Hood and J.R. Smith posted eight points each.

"What are you guys looking for, you guys think I'm going to throw my teammates under the bus? I'm not about that," James said. "Guys just, we have to be better, including myself."

"Had six turnovers tonight. I was horrible in the third quarter, couldn't make a shot. If I had made some better plays in the third quarter, the lead doesn't slip," he said.

Head Coach Tyronn Lue believes the Cavs committed too many turnovers as he rued his side's lack of timeouts late on in the game.

"The (defensive) pressure -- I thought it just hurt us, man," Lue explained. "Um, 10 turnovers in the second half, that cost us, too. Got them back in the game early."

"But we just didn't come out in that third quarter ready to play. I had to call a quick timeout, which hurt us down the stretch. We had no timeouts. So, we got to be better in the third quarter," he added.

The Cavaliers will once again look to level the series in Game 4 on Sunday which also takes place in Bankers Life Fieldhouse before Game 5 returns to the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.