INDIANAPOLIS — Cleveland's offense was stagnant, and the Indiana Pacers had turned a five-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers went back to their tried-and-true formula — LeBron, LeBron and more LeBron — and it got the usual result. James scored 10 of his season-high 40 points in the final 7:07, and Cleveland beat the Pacers 105-95 on Friday night.

“When you have a guy as talented as him, sometimes your best coaching on the offensive end of the floor is staying out of his way,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said.

The Pacers' poor shooting didn't give them a chance to take advantage of Cleveland's lapse in the early part of the final period. James didn't play for nearly five minutes to start the quarter, yet the Cavaliers erased Indiana's lead while he was out.

James sucked the life out of the Pacers and sent the crowd to the exits with a three-pointer over Dahntay Jones as the shot clock expired that gave the Cavaliers a 101-94 lead with 53 seconds left.

“That was huge,” Cleveland forward J.J. Hickson said. “I always have confidence in his shot, but that kind of sealed the game for us.”

Jones, brought in as a free agent to be the team's defensive stopper, had no answer for James all night.

“He had a good game, and that's what great players do,” Jones said. “He shot the ball well, he made his teammates better. You got to tip your hat to him.”

James also had nine rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland (9-4).

Cleveland center Shaquille O'Neal missed his fourth straight game with a strained right shoulder.

Cleveland forward Anderson Varejao played after he missed two games with a bruised hip. He finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes.

Danny Granger had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jones added 17 points for the Pacers (5-5), who lost their second in a row. Indiana forward Troy Murphy played after missing six games with a bruised lower back. He finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes.