INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana) • LeBron James has refused to contemplate the possibility that Game 7 of the first-round series decider against the Indiana Pacers could be his last in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.

"No. No. The thought of, if we don't play well it will be my last game of the year, that will probably hit my mind, but I haven't thought about that," James said after Cleveland's 121-87 loss to the Pacers in Game 6 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs.

He has a US$35.6 million (S$47.1 million) player's option on his contract for next season but is expected to become a free agent on July 1. The 33-year-old NBA superstar has spoken about his intention to retire as a Cavalier but speculation over his future remains rife, along with questions over whether his hometown team can give him a chance to win his fourth ring.

James led the Cavaliers with 22 points and sat out the fourth quarter as his 11-game winning streak in closeout games snapped on Friday .

For the series, he is averaging 32.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists, while shooting 53.6 per cent from the floor. But he has received little support from his team-mates. No other starter had more than nine points while no other Cavalier had more than 13 (Jeff Green).

The Pacers, on the other hand, had a balanced attack, with seven players scoring in double figures.

Indiana's largest lead was 36 points. Guard Victor Oladipo finished with team-highs of 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first play-off triple double.

Thaddeus Young (10), Bojan Bogdanovic (10), Myles Turner (12), Lance Stephenson (12), Darren Collison (15), and Domantas Sabonis (19) contributed to the rout.

In order to set up a second-round clash with top seeds Toronto Raptors, who defeated the Washington Wizards 102-92 earlier on Friday to progress 4-2, James knows he needs help from fellow All-Star Kevin Love. The centre was three-for-10 in Game 6. He is averaging 11 points on 32.4 per cent shooting in the series with 15 turnovers - and is still Cleveland's second-leading scorer behind James (196 points).

"He's a huge part of our success or non-success," said James. "If we want to have any success in either Game 7 or moving on to the next round, Kev has a big part in that."

Game 7 will be played today (tomorrow morning, Singapore time) in Cleveland, and James is relishing the opportunity to extend his perfect 12-0 career record in the first round of the play-offs.

"Game 7, I always said, is the two greatest words in sports," added the forward, who is 4-2 in Game 7s.

"Us having a Game 7 on our floor, our fans are going to be truly excited to be a part of that. And hope our guys are excited about that as well, and understand that just don't take those moments for granted."

The Pacers, on the wrong end of a missed goaltending call in Game 5, are confident of outplaying the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions again.

"I believe we were confident even before the series started,"Oladipo said. "And we're still confident now."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

MILWAUKEE V BOSTON

Game 7: Singtel TV Ch110, 8am