LeBron James and the Cavaliers are in serious trouble after blowing Game 3

As the Indiana Pacers tied Game 3 halfway through the fourth quarter, no matter whether they won or lost, the takeaway seemed clear: LeBron James is in trouble.

In the following six minutes, Bojan Bogdanovic caught fire like he never has before, LeBron James tried desperately (and futilely) to save the Cavaliers with several unlikely three-pointers, James’ teammates remained invisible, and Indiana held onto their lead for a 92-90 win on Friday — a lead taken despite trailing by 17 points at the half.

In Game 1, James’ streak of 21 straight first round wins was snapped when Indiana socked the Cavaliers right in the mouth. In Game 2, Cleveland tied the series ... but only thanks to a 46-point effort from James. Despite his brilliance, it seemed clear that James needing to do that much just to avoid a 0-2 hole in the first round was an ominous sign.

Game 3 certainly proved that much.

It looked like Cleveland had found itself in the first half as they built that big lead. They had flustered Victor Oladipo with aggressive trapping out of their pick-and-roll defense, and for the first time all series, Kevin Love looked alive.

But Cleveland’s 57-40 halftime lead fell apart slowly in the third quarter, and then quicker in the fourth. The Cavaliers simply couldn’t score, and even James struggled. In the second half, they shot 34 percent and only hit one three-pointer during the first 17 minutes of the half, going 1-of-12 despite some good looks. (James hit several after Indiana took a lead, and Love hit one late, but they were ultimately inconsequential.)

More second half stats: only one Cavalier scored double digit points, James, who had 15. Rodney Hood had six and no other Cleveland player had more than one bucket. In every conceivable manner, it was James alone on an island. And while we should credit Indiana’s defense — and especially Bogdanovic’s one-on-one work against James — it still felt like much of Cleveland’s issues were self-inflicted ... or that they’re just not good enough.

The rule is that we should never doubt LeBron James, and for good reason. So many times he has proved himself against insurmountable odds. But James has never trailed in a first round series in his entire career, and even if he can force the Cavaliers into manufacturing three more wins, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the postseason.