CLEVELAND -- LeBron James approached Kevin Love with a halftime message Sunday: It was time to get the focal point of the offense rolling.

Love responded with a huge second half and James sealed it by suggesting the play call to Love that ultimately clinched the victory. Meanwhile, Indiana Pacers forward Paul George didn't sound overly impressed with any of it.

Love scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, including two big baskets in the game's final minute, and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to six games with a 101-97 victory Sunday against the Pacers.

George, however, wasn't backing down.

"I think we match up well against this team," he said. "This team doesn't really scare us."

George has endured plenty of battles against James in the past, but he lost the ones that mattered most. James' Miami Heat teams eliminated George's Pacers three consecutive years before the Pacers missed the playoffs last season when George broke his leg.

This was the first matchup between James and George since the 2014 Eastern Conference finals, which the Heat won in six games. Now that George is back and healthy, so too is his rivalry with James.

"It's on us to get where we want to get to," George said. "It's all about who gets the last laugh when we're in the NBA Finals or playing against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals or whoever."

James had 29 points, six rebounds and four assists, while forward Tristan Thompson had 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Cleveland hasn't lost since its opening-night defeat at the buzzer in Chicago despite playing without injured guards Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith.

George scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Pacers, while guard Monta Ellis scored 25 points, guard George Hill scored 14 points and forward Jordan Hill grabbed 11 rebounds. The Pacers had their own three-game winning streak snapped.

Love, a forward, scuffled through the first half missing five of six shots, but James pulled him aside at halftime and told him his energy was too low on offense.

"I told him if he would just get his motor going offensively the ball would start to go in for him," James said. "He started to do that and he continued to rebound and then he started scoring the ball the way he was capable of doing."

Love scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the second half, including 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Cavs extended their lead to 97-92 on a basket by Love, who spun away from Lavoy Allen on a backdoor cut as James zipped him a pass under the basket with 27 seconds left.

George quickly countered with a 3-pointer, but the Cavs broke the Pacers' press coming out of a timeout and the ball ended up in Love's hands for the uncontested dunk, clinching the game and ending Love's finest night of the season. He also had three blocks and two assists.

James has said at various points already this season that Love will be the focal point of the Cavs' offense. He certainly was Sunday, and the two stars combined for 18 of Cleveland's 27 points in the fourth.

"I think I'm getting a lot of different looks this year," Love said. "I don't know if that's a product of Shump and Kyrie being out, but I think from a comfort standpoint and just looking at how the offense breaks down, so far just getting near the basket it's a lot better for me."

There were 21 lead changes and 15 ties in a game and the only double-digit lead lasted four seconds. The Pacers briefly took a 90-88 lead on a 3-pointer by Ellis with 3:47 left, but played from behind the rest of the night.

"It was a hard-fought win for them," George Hill said. "LeBron and Love are two of the best players in the league, they make smart basketball plays. Down the stretch, it was just a matter of them making shots and us not making shots."

NOTES: The bulk of the game's second half was officiated with just two referees. Crew chief Joe Crawford had to exit in the third quarter because his right knee locked up and he was unable to run, although it didn't impact the game. "My focus was on the game," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "It didn't affect us at all." ... The Pacers are nine wins shy of 2,000 in franchise history. They are 1991-1909 in 49 seasons (9 ABA, 40 NBA) and finished with a .500 record or better 27 times. ... Pacers G C.J. Miles missed his third game with an injured right ankle. ... Cavs F/C Anderson Varejao received his first DNP-CD of the season and has played just 16 minutes in the last four games. ... Cavs G J.R. Smith missed his third straight game with a knee injury. G/F Richard Jefferson started in his place for the second time.