Love says Cavaliers 'were hit in the mouth' by Pacers

If the Cleveland Cavaliers needed a wakeup to remind them that the NBA playoffs have officially tipped off, they received it in a big way in a 98-80 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

With Game 2 on tap tonight at Quicken Loans Arena, Kevin Love said the Pacers have indeed gotten the Cavaliers' full attention.

"Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth and that will wake you up pretty fast," Love said after practice Tuesday. "That will make you pay attention. So, we did that, we fought back, gave ourselves a chance, cut the lead down to single digits, but at that point they just had a ton of confidence."

Love, a five-time All-Star, took only eight shots in the game, finishing with nine points and 17 rebounds. Fellow All-Star LeBron James did not take a single shot until less than two minutes remained in the first quarter.

The Pacers led the Cavaliers after one quarter Sunday, 33-14, and never trailed.

The loss was the first opening-game defeat in James' career.

"I would say our intensity, at least until we got hit in the mouth that first quarter, it didn't quite feel like, I guess, the playoffs," Love said. "That's a weird thing to say. It feels like the playoffs, especially now that we're down 0-1.

"We better be ready for it."

Lance Stephenson, who provided a big lift off the bench for Indiana in Game 1, said the Cavaliers didn't take the Pacers as a serious threat, even though Indiana won three out of four game against Cleveland during the regular season.

"They didn't think we would get this far and they didn't think we was going to win that many games," he said. "But if you look at our team, I guess you could say we don't have that one player or the type of players that stand out and that's why they underestimate us."

After Victor Oladipo once again torched the Cavaliers in Game 1, posting a game-high 32 points, don't expect that to be the case tonight, according to both Love and Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue.

"We know what we have to do tomorrow and that's come out and be more aggressive," Love said. "And I fully expect Bron to set the tone on that end."

Thoughts echoed by Lue.

"When he sets the tone early for us, we're usually a really good team," Lue said.