Wrap-Up — After a Sunday afternoon snoozer in the nation’s capital – their second straight loss – the Cavaliers needed a ballgame to jumpstart themselves heading into the season’s final month-and-a-half.
On Monday night, they got exactly that – winning a 100-96 thriller over the Pacers to tip off a four-game homestand at The Q.
Playing on the odd leap year date – February 29 – it was only appropriate that Monday’s Central Division matchup featured countless twists and turns before being decided in the game’s waning seconds. The meeting featured 17 ties and 25 lead changes and neither team led by more than six at any point.
LeBron James did the offensive heavy-lifting in the victory, but the Cavaliers got big contributions across the board, including Tristan Thompson – who relinquished his starting spot and responded with 14 points, 11 boards and the biggest defensive play of the night, rejecting Rodney Stuckey’s layup attempt with 17.9 to play.
Less than a minute before Thompson’s swat, another second team star – Matthew Dellavedova – came up big, canning a triple with 1:13 to play that tied the contest at 94-apiece. On Indiana’s next possession, Thompson grabbed Paul George’s missed layup attempt and scored on a short turnaround with 39.5 left in regulation to give Cleveland their final lead of the night – with Kyrie Irving drilling four straight free throws in the final nine seconds to ice the win.
LeBron James – who sat out Sunday’s drubbing in D.C. – returned with a vengeance, scoring 12 of his game-high 33 points in the first quarter, going 14-for-22 overall, including 2-of-4 from long-distance and adding five boards, four assists and a team-high two steals.
Kyrie followed up with 22 points, six helpers and three boards – going 5-of-13 from the floor and a perfect 11-of-11 from the stripe.
Though both starters each went 4-of-14 from the floor, Kevin Love finished with 13 points, eight boards and six assists and J.R Smith added 11 points, three boards and a steal in the win.
Timofey Mozgov tallied eight boards in his return to the starting lineup – although he attempted just a single shot on the night. Delly came off the bench to add five assists and six points – including his clutch trey late in the affair.
On the night, the Cavaliers shot just 42 percent from the floor, but managed to hold Indy to just 46 percent. Both teams were neck and neck statistically: The Cavs outrebounded the Pacers, 40-36, and outscored them in the paint, 46-42. In a game that had a distinct playoff feel from the opening tip, Cleveland fared better in second-chance scoring, 15-10, and the Pacers were better on the break, 14-10.
Turning Point — Indicative of Monday night’s see-saw action, one of the most decisive plays of the night took over three minutes to settle.
With 4:46 to play, Paul George seemingly beat the shot clock when he drilled a three-pointer that (would have) given Indiana a four-point lead. But at the next dead ball during a timeout with 2:27 remaining, officials reviewed George’s triple and found that it was released after the shot clock expired. Three points were taken off the board and the score was changed to 90-89.
Immediately out of the timeout, LeBron scored on a driving layup, giving the Cavaliers the lead right back. The Pacers took the lead right back, but Dellavedova’s bomb to tie the game tilted the affair Cleveland’s way to stay.
By the Numbers – 4,135 … days since the Indiana Pacers beat the Cavaliers at The Q with LeBron James in the starting lineup – a 109-104 victory over the Cavaliers on November 3, 2004 in what was then called Gund Arena.
Quotable – Kyrie Irving, on Friday night’s loss in Toronto … on being benched along with three other starters in the third, but quickly returning to the game …
” It was a divisional game, tough, hardnosed, physical. Every time we go against Indiana, it’s going to be one of those hardnosed, tough, grind it out games no matter what and who’s on the floor. Guys are physical, but that’s the types of games that show the character of the team. They grind it out just like we did, but we came out with the win.”
Up Next – Following Monday night’s heart-stopping victory at The Q, the Cavaliers continue their four-game homestand this weekend after a well-earned three-day break. The pending back-to-back provides a chance for some revenge for the Wine and Gold – with the Wizards – who hammered Cleveland on Sunday – and the Celtics – who stunned the Cavs on Avery Bradley’s buzzer-beater on February 5 – making their final regular season visits to the North Coast. Next week, the Cavaliers welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to Cleveland on Monday before embarking on their final West Coast trip of the year – a four-game junket against the Kings, Clippers, Lakers and Jazz.
