Candace Buckner

IndyStar

Pacers at Bucks, 8 p.m. Wednesday, FSI

CLEVELAND — When the Indiana Pacers look back on the season, they'll see games like Monday night disposed along the way. Close games that turned into tough losses, and those losses revealing both promise and imperfections. But mostly just disappointment.

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pacers matched and outplayed the reigning Eastern Conference champions for three quarters. They even pulled ahead in the fourth quarter. They had a chance. But like many of the previous games, Monday ended in a 100-96 loss.

The Pacers (31-29) have now lost 12 games decided by four points or less this season.

"We showed more spirit than we did the last two home games," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "I was happy with that. But we've got to figure out a way to close these games out."

To the Pacers' credit, they looked like they belonged on the same court as the Cavaliers. As Cleveland leaned on their superstar tandem of LeBron James (33 points) and Kyrie Irving (22), Indiana countered with the duo of Paul George and Monta Ellis; the pair equally sharing 28 of the team's 30 points in the third quarter.

Though Ellis finished with 28 points and George sizzled through the second half and finished with 23 points, one of his biggest buckets was eliminated after review. With less than 5 minutes remaining, George seemingly tied the score at 89 with a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. But at the first stoppage of play about two minutes later, after the Pacers had built a four-point advantage, officials reviewed the shot from George and ruled that it came after the buzzer. The Pacers' lead suddenly diminished to 90-89.

George said he didn't notice his shot leaving his hand a heartbeat after the shot clock, nor did he think that particular play stemmed momentum for the Pacers. However other problems gnawed at George.

After the game George spent one minute and four seconds giving a sullen account to reporters. Then once the crowd fanned out, George took time to patiently explain his true feelings.

"It was questionable," George repeated several times, referencing the closing minute of the game that turned against the Pacers.

"I’m not putting the game on the officials," George said. "But when it comes down to a big swing and you miss two calls that’s kinda tough. That’s tough to close the game out."

• BOX SCORE: Cavs 100, Pacers 96

As the clock ticked under 40 seconds, the Cavs held possession with the score tied when James drove into the chest of Rodney Stuckey, bowling him over in the paint. As Stuckey fell, the play continued for James to set up Tristan Thompson for the game-breaking bucket.

"There were some questionable calls that should’ve went our way," Stuckey said, "but we competed though, so that’s important."

Even so, the night, the play and this loss rankled George. Combine James running into Stuckey against George's own blown layup on the previous possession in which he said he felt contact, as well as his team being whistled for 8 more fouls than the Cavs, and George could not help but express his discontent.

"There was a stretch when there was about a minute left. I get pushed in the back going for a layup," he said. "They come down on the other end and LeBron runs Stuckey over. Felt like that was two big no-calls in this game. It’s frustrating but what do you expect.

"It’s weird. Teams play physical against us and rarely get called for physicality. When we play physical, its for ticky-tack (stuff). It’s frustrating."

In the first quarter, George complained about a physical play during a box out with Thompson, slapped the stanchion and picked up a technical foul. Though it was early in the game, George said he wanted to make a statement.

"It was emotion," George said, explaining his technical foul, "and I know how officiating can go when you’re playing against LeBron. ... It seems slanted a little bit. I just wanted it to (be) a fair night."

Fair or foul, the Pacers still have dropped three straight games. And this one coming the night after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers revealed a lack of toughness, according to George.

Through the first half, the toughness varied. In the first quarter, they failed to defend James on his four drives to the rim. However, the tough character trait manifested in a surprising way, namely Chase Budinger.

Through a season-long struggle in identifying his role, Budinger has looked to set up teammates while finding little production for himself. But in the second quarter, as the Pacers’ bench maintained a narrow lead, Budinger scored six points on three aggressive and decisive moves to the paint. Near the midway mark after a George Hill miss, Budinger crashed in from the perimeter and threw down a tip dunk. Led by Budinger and Lavoy Allen’s scoring, the second unit opened a 37-31 advantage, the largest lead of a tightly contested game that ended too similarly for the Pacers.

"Yeah, it’s tough. There are some calls that really didn’t go our way. That makes it frustrating after a game when you think," said Budinger, who finished with 11 points. "But sometimes you can’t really worry about the ref making a call to change the game or not. We just need to do a better job in the last four minutes of getting stops."

Follow IndyStar reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

Pacers at Bucks, 8 p.m. Wednesday, FSI