by Jordan Morey
In a Monday night Central Division matchup in the Circle City, two teams shuffling for postseason positioning battled to the final buzzer.
By game’s end, the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers (43-25) pulled out the win, posting a 108-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers (38-31) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Despite the loss, the Pacers still hold a 2-1 regular season series lead over the Cavs, with their final game scheduled for April 12 in Cleveland.
After entering halftime tied at 54, the Cavs broke open the game with a 36-point third quarter to take a nine-point advantage into the final frame. The Pacers tied the game with just over two minutes remaining, but couldn’t complete the comeback down the final stretch.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Tyrese Haliburton recorded 14 points, 12 assists, and six boards for the Blue and Gold. T.J. McConnell scored 14 points off the bench, and Jalen Smith scored 11 points while pulling down eight rebounds.
Six players scored in double figures for Cleveland, led by 23 points each from Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. The Cavs were without three starters in the game, as All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (nasal fracture), center Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain), and sharpshooter Max Strus (right knee strain) were all sidelined with injuries.
While the Cavs edged the Pacers 47.5 to 46.2 percent in field goals, the Cavs shot 12-for-32 from 3-point range while the Pacers made just nine of 38 (23.7 percent) of their shots from deep. At the free-throw line, the Pacers shot 10-for-16, and the Cavs were 20-for-28.
The first and second quarters were near polar opposites for Indiana. The Pacers led by nine points at the end of the first frame, but the Cavs answered with a large run late in the second quarter to tie the game at 54-54 by the break.
In the first quarter, the Pacers shot 60 percent – with all nine players taking the floor scoring a bucket – to lead 34-25.
FIRST QUARTER
After the Cavs opened the game on a 7-2 run, making their first three shots following the tip, the Pacers responded with an 18-3 scoring streak, where six different players scored, to lead 21-12 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
The Pacers didn’t relinquish the lead the remainder of the frame. In the final 1:16, McConnell and Siakam each made layups before Smith hit a 3-pointer to give the Blue and Gold a nine-point lead by the first-quarter buzzer.
SECOND QUARTER
At the start of the second period, hustle plays by McConnell, Smith, and rookie Ben Sheppard—which resulted in three offensive rebounds and two steals—helped the Pacers to a 47-32 lead by the 7:38 mark.
Indiana didn’t record another field goal for the next five minutes, and the Cavs took advantage.
Cleveland answered with a 15-1 run, anchored by a 3-pointer by Marcus Morris and eight points from LeVert, to cut it to 48-47 with 2:34 left in the half.
A bucket from McConnell snapped the Pacers’ drought, but a three-point play by LeVert tied the game at 50 with 1:41 remaining. Neither team could generate much offense the rest of the way, and the score remains knotted at 54.
THIRD QUARTER
The Cavs made their first four shots of the second half – including two from deep – to lead 64-58 two minutes into the third quarter and force a Pacers timeout.
The Cavs built a double-digit lead before 3-pointers from Aaron Nesmith’s and Myles Turner, and a basket from Siakam, cut it to 74-70 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
Cleveland and Indiana largely traded baskets for the remainder of the period. The Cavs held a 90-83 lead going into the fourth quarter after Morris hit a 3-pointer with a second left on the clock.
FOURTH QUARTER
After the Pacers started 2-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter, Haliburton hit a 3-pointer and completed an and-one, and Andrew Nembhard also added a three, to cut it to 101-99 with 4:37 left in the game.
The game then stayed within a possession until Siakam pulled down an offensive rebound and Haliburton scored a layup to tie the game at 103 with 2:05 left. LeVert scored on a 9-foot fadeaway on the next possession, and the Pacers couldn’t get a bucket to go on their next two offensive possessions before a layup by Isaac Okoro made it a four-point game with 26 seconds left.
After the Pacers clanked another 3-point attempt, Darius Garland split free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal it .
“We didn’t have a very good start to the game,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We were down 7-2 and had a couple of very bad defensive possessions, but got it back together and did well finishing the first quarter and then the second quarter was a big problem. The third was bad, too. We got in a hole, did some good things to fight out of the hole, but consistency wasn’t there. It’s a tough loss.”
Indiana won the rebounding margin 45-39 and outscored the visitors’ bench unit 40-27.
The Pacers will kick off a five-game road trip on Wednesday when they take on the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.
Inside the Numbers
Indiana won the rebounding margin 45-39, including 13-9 on offensive rebounds.
Indiana outscored Cleveland’s bench unit 40-27.
Marcus Morris Sr., who is on a 10-day contract with the Cavs, had 14 points and four rebounds.
Caris LeVert has five double-doubles this season.
Tyrese Haliburton has recorded 39 double-doubles and Pascal Siakam has seven with Indiana.
The Pacers won the fast-break margin 18-4.
In the paint, the Pacers outscored the Cavs 54-44.
You Can Quote Me on That
“Give Cleveland credit. There’s no disrespect to them. Maybe a couple possessions they went zone and surprised us a little bit, but I honestly just think we didn’t make any shots. I think we got a couple good looks and it didn’t go in. Credit to them for switching it up, but I just think we didn’t make any shots.” – T.J. McConnell on the Pacers’ long stretch without a field goal in the second quarter
“It’s really not falling right now. There’s no real explanation for it. We’ve got to continue to play the way we do, continue to take the shots. They’ll fall. It’s just an up-and-down thing from three and the numbers will even themselves out.” -McConnell on Indiana’s 3-point shooting woes
“Just not getting stops down the stretch and not capitalizing enough offensively and that starts with me. We’ve just got to be better.” – Tyrese Haliburton on losing close games at home
“Their guards are dynamic. Garland’s really good and Caris is certainly really good. Just them getting downhill and us having to rotate and we were just a little late on finding the cutters. I thought we did a good job here and there, but when they needed a bucket, they certainly made timely buckets with the cuts and stuff like that.” – McConnell on Cleveland’s offensive execution late in the game
“When I play better we win, so I’m just trying to figure it out right now. It’s just frustrating. I’ve never been through a slump like this in my life, but it’s all part of it, figuring it out…I’ve got to be better. It’s on me.” – Haliburton on battling through a shooting slump
“I think it just starts from me getting guys in the right positions, getting the right shots at the end of games. Just me doing a better job. I think it starts with me and just kind of trickles down from there.” – Haliburton on late-game execution
“They’re a good defensive team, but we had some very bad possessions that were in our control. We were doing things that were uncharacteristic.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the loss
“We’ve got to stay positive. We’ve got to have a good day tomorrow and get ready for Detroit on Wednesday. Detroit’s another hungry team. We’ve got to be more hungry than everybody we’re playing right now.” – Carlisle on looking ahead
“T.J. just approaches it the same way all the time. He’s going to he’s going to give everything he’s got out there regardless of the situation. That’s what we all need to do. This time of year, we got to keep the main thing, the main thing, and that is doing everything possible and every possession offensively and defensively to put our team in a positive position. And tonight we had too many periods where we didn’t do that. We have to work on getting it fixed.” – Carlisle on McConnell
Stat of the Night
Indiana made nine 3-pointers on 23.7 percent shooting from 3-point range against the Cavs. On the season, the team is averaging 13 made 3-pointers per game on 37.1 percent shooting from deep.
Noteworthy
- Going into Monday’s matchup, the Cavs were third in the East and the Pacers were sixth in the standings. If those positions hold, the teams would face each other in the first round of the playoffs.
- Pacers forward Doug McDermott has missed 10 straight games due to a calf injury.
- Pacers center Myles Turner needs five blocks to break Jermaine O’Neal’s Pacers franchise record for career blocks (1,245).
Up Next
The Pacers travel to Detroit to tip off a five-game road trip against Jaden Ivey and the Pistons on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 PM ET.
Tickets
After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com