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Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James goes up for a slam dunk against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, April 8, 2015 in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)

BOSTON -- With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference locked up, the Cleveland Cavaliers went with a Knicks-like starting lineup Sunday at Boston: Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Shawn Marion, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov.

The result -- a 39-point Celtics win -- looks outrageous, but it was somewhat predictable. As the playoffs loom, the Cavs have no incentive to win and every incentive to rest their starters, which is why LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith were all DNPs.

David Blatt's decision to sit four starters helped Boston in the playoff race, and it indirectly hurt Indiana, the team sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Asked about the "integrity of the playoff race," Blatt naturally didn't seem too concerned about the Pacers' perspective.

"Indiana wasn't upset when they played us and they had to sit a player or two," Blatt said. "It happened in the middle of the season when we played Indiana at Indiana and (Kyrie Irving) had an injury and we sat LeBron because it was a tough back-to-back and we flew in the day of the game. That didn't bother them then. I don't see why it would bother them now. That's the nature of the league."

The game to which Blatt referred took place in late February, and it ended in a 93-86 Pacers win. Call it even.

In all likelihood, Blatt sat LeBron and Co. purely for rest reasons, but it is sensible to believe the Cavs want the Pacers out of the playoffs and certainly out of the No. 7 seed. Indiana has won four straight games by an average of 15.5 points and has plenty of playoff experience. Plus, Paul George has returned to the lineup. That's not an opponent the Cavs would want to draw.