CLEVELAND (AP) Thaddeus Young scored 26 points, Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 and the Indiana Pacers held off Cleveland’s comeback bid for a 123-115 win on Tuesday night, handing the Cavaliers their 10th straight loss.
Cleveland (8-33) has the worst record in the league. The Cavaliers suffered another injury when forward Larry Nance hurt his right knee in the first quarter and didn’t return.
Victor Oladipo had 17 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 for the Pacers, who have won seven of eight.
Jordan Clarkson scored 26 points for Cleveland, which trailed by 23 points in the third quarter before cutting the lead to five several times in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland was within 115-110 with 1:24 to play, but Oladipo hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Young scored on a layup to put the game away.
Indiana led 87-64 midway through the third quarter before the Cavaliers rallied. Clarkson scored 10 points in the final four minutes and the Cavaliers trailed 92-79 going into the fourth.
Cleveland’s last win came at Indiana on Dec. 18. The Pacers jumped ahead quickly. Indiana led by 10 points midway through the first quarter and was ahead 38-14 late in the period.
Bogdanovic had 14 points and the Pacers made 16 of 22 shots in the quarter. Indiana’s lead remained over 20 points for the rest of the half.
Alec Burks scored 19 points for Cleveland. Tristan Thompson had 15 points and 13 rebounds while rookie point guard Collin Sexton scored 14.
Nance appeared to get hurt when he was fouled while going up for a shot under the basket. Nance made one of two free throws and the Cavaliers fouled to stop the clock and put in a sub. Nance limped to the locker room with a team trainer.
Nance is averaging 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds. He leads the team in assists, steals and blocked shots.
Cleveland coach Larry Drew indicated over the weekend that he’d make lineup changes, but decided against that because of the team’s long injury list.
All-Star forward Kevin Love, who has played in only four games this season because of left foot surgery, said Monday that he’s still weeks away from doing any significant on-court work.
Cleveland begins a six-game trip Wednesday in New Orleans. The trip also includes games against Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Utah and Denver.
TIP-INS
Pacers: G Corey Joseph, who was questionable with a bruised right thigh, scored 11 points. … G Darren Collison, also questionable with a sore right leg, had eight. … C Myles Turner missed his second straight game with a sore right shoulder.
Cavaliers: G Matthew Dellavedova (sprained left foot) and C Ante Zizic (sore right knee) returned. … G Rodney Hood (strained left Achilles) and G David Nwaba (sprained left ankle) remained out. … G Cameron Payne, signed to a 10-day contract Monday, scored 10 points.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Visit Boston on Wednesday.
Cavaliers: Visit New Orleans on Wednesday.
