Source: Justin Casterline / Getty
(Indianapolis, IN) – The Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers faced each other for the 2nd time this season, with both teams battling tough throughout the game. The Pacers dominated the 1st half, but the Cavs would come storming back in the 3rd. A back-and-forth 4th quarter saw multiple lead changes, before the Pacers would pull away and get the win. Here is a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the Pacers win.
1st Quarter
The game started out with some good offense from the Pacers, with both Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner hitting 3’s in the early minutes. Bruce Brown would also get in on the action early, as he would hit a 3 of his own. Buddy Hield would come off the bench and get in on the scoring party, hitting a 3 on his very first shot. Overall, the Pacers would force 5 turnovers, hit 5 3-pointers, and lead 36-25 at the end of the quarter.
2nd Quarter
The 2nd quarter would start much in the same way as the first, with Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith getting shots to fall in the first few minutes. The Cavs would get the game within 8 off a 3 by Georges Niang, but Myles Turner would answer with a 3 of his own to push the lead back to 11. Turner would continue to dominate, hitting another pair of 3-point shots to help put the Pacers up by 18. Turner would lead Indy at halftime, with 22 points and going 4/4 from beyond the arc. The Pacers would lead Cleveland 70-53 at halftime.
3rd Quarter
Cleveland would open the quarter scoring 4 quick points, before Myles Turner would start the scoring once again for Indy by recovering a rebound and putting it down. Cleveland would continue to chip away at the Pacers lead, with Indy committing several turnovers and shooting poorly throughout the quarter. The Pacers would only put up 6 points in the first 7 minutes, before Jalen Smith would stop some of the bleeding with a 3-pointer. With 4:25 left in the quarter, Cleveland managed to get within 2 points, forcing a Pacers timeout. The Cavs would take the lead for the first time in the game with around 2 minutes left in the quarter.
4th Quarter
The final quarter would swing back and forth for the first few minutes, before the Pacers opened a 3-point lead off the efforts of Smith and Nesmith. The two teams would continue to trade blows, swapping the lead several times. The Pacers would then go on a run going out in front by 7 with around 3 minutes left. The Cavs would fight back, closing the gap and making it a 3-point game. Haliburton and Hield would contribute several baskets each to keep the Pacers in front in the closing seconds of the game, and the Pacers picked up the tough fought victory by a score of 121-116.
Top Performers: Myles Turner finished the game with 27 points, 9 rebounds, a pair of steals and a pair of blocks. He went 4-5 from 3-point range. Bruce Brown and Tyrese Haliburton would contribute 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Notes: The Pacers were the winners of the first ever in-season tournament game in the NBA. The next time Cleveland and Indianapolis will face each other is March 18th at home.
Up Next: The Pacers are next in action Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets. They follow that up with games against the Spurs, Jazz, and Bucks. Tipoff from Gainbridge for the game against the Hornets is set for 7:00pm, pregame with Pat Boylen and Mark Boyle begins at 6:30pm right here on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!
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Indiana Pacers Survive Cleveland’s 2nd Half Rally, Pick Up Win. was originally published on 1075thefan.com
