INDIANAPOLIS -- No LeBron James proved to be no problem for the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

Paul George had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Teague added 20, and Indiana defeated the short-handed NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-93.

Cleveland (9-2) played without James (23.4 points), who was resting, and J.R. Smith (10.5), who has a right ankle sprain.

"They were a dangerous team, even if LeBron is not in the lineup," Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. "When our guys got the news he was not playing, my concern was a letdown. Guys were excited about LeBron and the World Champions being in town.

"Our guys did the job defensively, and especially in the first half, we had good ball movement. Tonight, the key was simply to take care of business, even it LeBron is not in uniform."

The Cavaliers got 27 points from Kevin Love and 24 from Kyrie Irving, but they lacked a third option to keep pace with the Pacers, who placed five in double figures and improved to 6-1 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse and 6-6 overall.

Love and Irving were a combined 21 of 43 from the field, but the rest of the roster was a collective 14 of 43.

"We had our chances," Love said. "We cut the lead to four or five a couple of times, and it just felt like we either had a bad possession, a turnover and then that lead went to eight or nine points."

A 6-0 Pacers' run, capped by a Thaddeus Young layup with 5:38 remaining, pushed Indiana's lead to 94-84.

"Our execution and defense won the game," Young said. "We also did a good job of putting Kyrie in some tough-shot situations. Defensively, we are better because we are listening to the coaches. We made them put the ball on the floor, which some of their guys don't like to do."

Young finished with 16 points, Myles Turner scored 12 and CJ Miles had 10 for Indiana, which shot 50 percent (43 of 86).

With Aaron Brooks scoring the Pacers' final five third-quarter points, Indiana seized an 80-68 lead. The Pacers were shooting 50.8 percent (32 of 63) with 12 minutes remaining, led by George's 21 points and 18 from Teague.

Love had 25 and Irving had 20 through three quarters, but no other Cavalier had more than six. Cleveland was shooting only 40.6 percent (28 of 69).

"Our defense was getting after it, and it was about guys being in the right places," Miles said. "It's about the guys helping each other."

The Pacers led by as many as 11 twice in the first half but settled for a 50-45 advantage through 24 minutes after Irving and Love combined for 22 second-quarter points and 31 after two quarters.

Teague had 12 first-half points for Indiana, which shot 48.8 percent (21 of 43) in the first two periods. George and Young each nine in the half for Indiana and Turner had eight.

The Cavaliers enjoyed a 26-19 rebounding advantage during the first 24 minutes.

"It doesn't matter about LeBron not playing," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "We lost the game. We missed J.R. Smith, too, with his athleticism and him being able to guard multiple positions."

NOTES: The Cavaliers played without F LeBron James, who got the day off to rest. ... The Pacers were without G Rodney Stuckey (right hamstring strain). ... The reigning World Champion Cavaliers entered with G Kyrie Irving (23.9), James (23.4) and F Kevin Love (20.4) averaging at least 20 points a game. ... F Paul George is the Pacers' leading scorer (21.0). ... Cleveland was playing the second night of a back to back having beaten Toronto 121-117 behind 28 points from James on Tuesday night. That victory was the Cavaliers' third in a row. ... Indiana was coming off Monday's victory against Orlando. ... Cleveland entered as the league's second-highest scoring team at 110.6, while Indiana is 12th at 106.5. ... The Pacers lead the NBA in blocks at 6.4- game ... Cleveland won last year's season series with Indiana, 3-1. ... Entering Wednesday's game, the Pacers led the all-time series, 93-88.