NBA Indiana is next target of new Cavs

Mike Brown's return to Indiana is sweet because he's coming in with the NBA's hottest team.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cavaliers' homecoming tour continues this week: next stop Indiana.
The way forward Drew Gooden sees it, they owe coach Mike Brown, a former Pacers assistant, a win.
"We beat Toronto for Donyell [Marshall] and we beat Memphis and Orlando for me," Gooden said of their respective former teams. "We still got to get Miami for [Damon] Jones. Now we're going to try and get Indiana for coach."
Brown spent two years as a Pacers assistant, helping them get to the Eastern Conference finals in 2004. He developed close ties with players like Stephen Jackson, who used to attend his boys' Little League games.
Nationally televised
But Brown says he's not looking at the nationally televised game on Thanksgiving Day as a homecoming because he wasn't there long enough to establish roots. He also doesn't look at it as a test of the Cavaliers against one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams.
His players though are thinking otherwise.
"It'll be fun, coach going back for the first time," guard Larry Hughes said. "Hopefully, we'll make it a good experience for him. It is tough to play in Indiana. We're trying to make a name for ourselves, so this is definitely a game we want to win."
The Cavaliers know just how tough it is to play in Indiana -- they haven't won there since April 2002, before LeBron James was on the team.
Brown's return to Indiana is made especially sweet by the fact that he's coming in with the NBA's hottest team. The Cavaliers are riding an eight-game winning streak and are undefeated at home.
The combination of James and Hughes, who signed with Cleveland as a free agent during the summer, has the Cavaliers (9-2) tied for the best start in franchise history.
James took over Tuesday night when the Celtics got within two in the third quarter. He scored Cleveland's next 10 points to hold off Boston and finished with 36.
"He decided to put us on his back, including my 200-plus pounds, and just carried us," Brown said.
But James hasn't had to do that very often -- unlike his first two seasons -- with Hughes and Marshall helping to lighten the scoring load.
High-scoring pair
James and Hughes look like they've been playing together for years and have combined for 134 points over their last two games.
"They're starting to show that they could be two of the best backcourt teammates in the league," Brown said. "They still have a way to go because they're still learning one another. But in this short amount of time they've found a way to click quickly. I believe it starts with both those guys being good guys, showing respect to one another."
The Cavaliers could be without one of their best outside shooters, point guard Damon Jones, when they play Indiana. Jones sprained his left ankle Tuesday against Boston and is listed as questionable.
"Somebody asked me, 'Are you guys one of the teams in the East to beat?"' Brown said. "Until we prove that we can do this on a consistent basis, the teams to beat in the East are Detroit, Indiana and Miami."
A win at Indiana would help put Cleveland in that group.
"They're a tough team with a good record like us," Gooden said. "It will be for some bragging rights, I guess."