Indiana Pacers 108 – Cleveland Cavaliers 93 Game Recap

(CLEVELAND, OH) – The Indiana Pacers (22-18) hand the Cleveland Cavaliers (33-5) their second loss at home with a 108-93 victory on Sunday night.

1. First Quarter

Entering tonight, the Cleveland Cavaliers possessed the best record and the best home record (20-1) in the NBA. They would put that on display the game by scoring the first ten points of the contest. Rick Carlisle was forced to call a timeout with 9:51 left in the period after a Darius Garland three-ball that capped the ten-point run. Indiana’s defense would respond by holding Cleveland’s number one offense in the association to nine points the rest of the quarter. It took time for the Pacers to tie the game, but they eventually would with a Pascal Siakam fadeaway jumper. On the following possession, Ben Sheppard delivered a layup in transition to give the Pacers their first lead. After twelve minutes, Indiana’s advantage was 21-19. Evan Mobley led all scorers with 7 points. Indiana’s leading scorer was Myles Turner with 6 points. Both teams struggled shooting three-pointers. Indiana was 2/11 (18.2%) and Cleveland was 3/11 (27.3%).

2. Second Quarter

Part of Cleveland’s first quarter struggles was the fact that Donovan Mitchell was held scoreless on his five shot attempts. He’d change that by converting a floater with 9:08 remaining in the half during a stretch where the two teams were exchanging the lead. With 5:40 remaining in the half, Turner tied the game at 32 with a field goal. The Cavaliers then went on a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead with 3:34 remaining in the half. Indiana did not close the quarter well either. Cleveland outscored Indiana by nine points in the final 2:34 to take a 53-40 lead into the locker room. Mitchell scored 10 points in the second to lead all scorers. Indiana’s leading scorers were Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner with four points. As a team, Indiana shot 7/23 (30.4%) from the field and 1/7 (14.3%) from three-point range. Mobley led all scorers at halftime with 11 points. As a team, Indiana shot 3/18 (16.7%) from three-point range in the first half.

3. Third Quarter

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During halftime the Indiana Pacers announced that Tyrese Haliburton would not be returning because of left hamstring soreness. He only scored two points in his 18 minutes of action in the first half. Cleveland was hanging onto its double figure lead for the first four minutes of the third quarter and extended it to a game high fifteen points with 9:40 remaining in the period. The Cavaliers then went ice cold. Without Haliburton, Indiana responded to its largest deficit by going on a 13-0 run to draw within two after a Siakam dunk. During that stretch, Siakam scored six points, Mathurin scored five points, and Nembhard scored two. With 4:04 remaining in the third quarter, Mathurin tied the game with a three-pointer. From that point forward, Indiana outscored Cleveland by six points to take a 77-71 lead into the final twelve minutes of play. Indiana’s largest lead in the quarter was ten points after Toppin knocked down a bank shot. Mathurin and Siakam led all scorers in the quarter with 10 points. Siakam also had 9 points for the Pacers.

4. Fourth Quarter

After closing the third quarter with all the momentum, Indiana carried it over into the final quarter. The Pacers extended their lead to nine points after a Jarace Walker three with ten minutes left in the game. Cleveland just simply could not make shots when Indiana was missing shots. With 7:19 left in the game, Turner buried a three-pointer to put the Pacers ahead 90-78. Indiana’s advantage would reach a game high 18 points when Siakam completed a three-point play with 4:37 remaining in the game. Cleveland trimmed its deficit to a dozen points when Garland completed a three-point play. What really sealed the game was when Nembhard banked in a three-pointer as the shot clock was expiring and then knocked down a pullup jumper immediately after the Garland three-point play. Those five points made it 103-86 with 2:45 left in the game. Cleveland called a timeout to waive the white flag. Indiana would go on to win the game 108-93.

5. Top Performers

Andrew Nembhard (19p, 4a, 2s), Pascal Siakam (18p, 9r, 2a), Myles Turner (15p, 10r), Bennedict Mathurin (12p, 3r, 3a), Obi Toppin (12p, 2r), Thomas Bryant (11p, 3r), and Jarace Walker (8p, 12r, 2s, 1b). For Cleveland, Darius Garland (20p, 7a), Donovan Mitchell (19p, 3r, 2s), Evan Mobley (16p, 12r), and Jarrett Allen (11p, 9r, 3a). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana now 22-18 and 11-12 away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse
• Indiana has won 6 consecutive games by 10+ points – franchise record
• Indiana improves to 14-3 when Myles Turner scores 15+ points
• Indiana held Cleveland under 100 points for the first time this season
• Indiana held Cleveland to a season low for points in a half with 40 points (second half)
• Indiana held Cleveland to 28.2% in the second half and 11.8% (2/17) from three-point range
• Indiana held Cleveland to its second worst shooting performance of the season – 39.8%
• Indiana snapped Cleveland’s 12-game winning streak
  • Cleveland’s last loss prior to tonight was December 8th at Miami Heat
• Indiana snapped Cleveland’s 10-game home winning streak
  • Cleveland’s only home loss prior to tonight was November 27th vs Atlanta Hawks
• Indiana was outscored 60-45 in the first 38:40
• Indiana outscored Cleveland 63-48 in the final 21:40 (9:40 in third to end of game)
• Andrew Nembhard’s 19 points tied the second most points in a game for him this season
• Evan Mobley recorded his 3rd straight double-double
  • Mobley now has 17 double-doubles on the season
• Myles Turner recorded his 7th double-double
• Jarace Walker recorded a career high 12 rebounds in the win
• Jarace Walker was a team high +21 in +/-
• Tyrese Haliburton did not play in the second half with hamstring tightness
  • Haliburton injured the same left hamstring last season vs the Boston Celtics on 1/8/24 and missed 10 games

7. Next Up

Both teams will have a day off tomorrow to travel to Indianapolis to play game two of the four game series on Tuesday night. Pat Boylan will have pregame coverage at 6:30pm and then Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play ay 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.