way."

While the shot looked like an answered prayer as the Pacers snapped the Cavaliers' 12-game winning streak, the second longest in franchise history, there were plenty other routine moments that can't be overlooked to explain the evening's success.

Though the Pacers have struggled this season with retaining possessions, during the win over Cleveland they committed just eight turnovers – only the fifth game of the season in which they finished with 10 or fewer. Also, Indiana, an offensively-challenged team, has scored over the 100-point mark in four of its last six games. No coincidence that those four games were all wins. Also on Friday night, every starter scored in double digits but Hill (20 points), David West (20) and C.J. Miles (26) improved the team to 4-0 when moremissed without him.

"He's a difference maker for us," Vogel said. "I feel like he's an improved basketball player with all the work he's put into the summer. Larry Bird talks about it; I can see it everyday. He's an improved player."

The Pacers now move on to face the seventh-seeded Charlotte Hornets, a matchup that has also produced its share of strangeness.

On Nov. 19, Solomon Hill won the game with a tip-in at the buzzer – an unusual event that worked in Indiana's favor. Then on Jan. 17, if the basketball oracles truly exist, then they must have covered their eyes during the ugly overtime loss as the Pacers scored 71 points, the fewest points scored in an overtime game of the shot-clock era.

So on Sunday, the winner will