Jeff Teague guarantees Pacers won't be swept by Cavs

The Indiana Pacers aren't going down without a fight despite trailing 0-3 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Pacers point guard Jeff Teague guaranteed a victory in Game 4 to avoid the dreaded sweep shortly after Cleveland completed the largest halftime comeback in playoff history Thursday.

"We're playing for pride now," Teague told Nate Taylor of IndyStar. "We're all competitors in here and we all believe in one another. We ain't getting swept."

Pacers head coach Nate McMillan echoed the message of resilience.

"Sunday's game will be a test of our character," McMillan said. "It just comes down to that. Who will show up to fight and win a game? I expect us to come out Sunday and lay it all on the line for 48 minutes."

Three narrow losses might be hard to swallow, but the Pacers can take some encouragement from their unfortunate start. C.J. Miles missed an open jumper that would have swung Game 1. The Pacers went down early but made a valiant comeback that fell short in Game 2. It took an all-time performance from LeBron James for Cleveland to take Game 3. A few more favorable bounces could even have put the Pacers ahead in the series.

Instead, the Pacers will play for their playoff lives Sunday. Basketball can be cruel like that.