For the second time in three nights, the Cleveland Cavaliers versus Indiana Pacers matchup is happening. The Cavaliers were out for revenge after the Pacers snapped their 12-game winning streak in Cleveland on Sunday night. The Pacers entered the contest as winners of six consecutive games.
Indiana was also without Tyrese Haliburton, who has been ruled out with hamstring tightness. Haliburton didn't play in the second half of Sunday's game, but the Pacers still defeated the Cavaliers 108-93 with a strong second-half showing. They outscored Cleveland 68-40 in the final two quarters.
Wednesday's game was pretty tight until the Cavaliers finished the third quarter strong and never looked back. They kept the Pacers at bay for the rest of the game to get their 127-117 revenge win and snap Indiana's winning streak.
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Donovan Mitchell was fantastic for the Cleveland Cavaliers, especially in the first half, finishing with 35 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Darius Garland did his damage in the second half, scoring 24 points plus seven assists.
Evan Mobley had 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Jarett Allen and Max Strus each had 16 and 13 points, respectively.
On the other hand, it was a total team effort for the Indiana Pacers with seven players scoring in double figures. It wasn't enough after Pascal Siakam was shut down in the second half. Siakam had 23 points in the game, scoring 21 of them in the first two quarters.
Andrew Nembhard had 10 points and nine assists, while Bennedict Mathurin contributed 19 points. Myles Turner had 17 points and five rebounds, while TJ McConnell put up 10 points and eight assists off the bench.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Player Stats and Box Score
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Pacers
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers Game Summary
Tuesday's game started with an immediate duel between Pascal Siakam and Donovan Mitchell. They paced each other's team in the first quarter, scoring in double figures. Siakam had 12 points, while Mitchell was better with a whopping 19 points as the Cavaliers took a 37-30 lead after the first 12 minutes.
Siakam and Mitchell continued their back-and-forth in the second quarter, with the Pacers forward adding nine points to his tally. The Cleveland star scored 10 more points in the period, but the Pacers trimmed down the lead and were just down 62-61 at the half.
It was the same story in the third quarter as both teams were exchanging blows although Mitchell and Siakam slowed down in the second half. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen picked up the slack for the Cavaliers, leading them to a 100-89 lead after the third quarter.
The Cavs kept the home team at bay and negated every run they tried to make. A lot of people stepped up for Indiana in the second half, but they just fell short and needed more from Siakam in the final two quarters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 34-5 for the season, which is still the best record in the NBA. The Indiana Pacers dropped to 22-19, but is in a tie with the Bucks for fifth in the East.
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