CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers met the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a chance to build momentum before the NBA playoffs begin.
And the Cavs took advantage of the opportunity, defeating the Pacers 129-120 to clinch a spot in the postseason .
The Cavs snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a 110-98 win over the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies , and guard Donovan Mitchell felt better as he pushed through a left knee bone bruise.
The good times could have vanished for the Cavs , who have been the epitome of inconsistency since the All-Star break in mid-February, but they kept rolling instead.
The Cavs (48-33) entered Friday fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. Because they beat the Pacers (46-35) and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic 125-113, the Cavs locked up home-court advantage in the first round.
The Cavs have one regular-season game left after clashing with the Pacers: Sunday afternoon at home against the Charlotte Hornets (20-61). The playoffs will start April 20.
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Tipoff for Cavs versus Pacers occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. Here are our updates from throughout the game.
Below is some information about the fourth quarter.
After Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith made two foul shots to cut the Cavs' lead to 123-120, Cleveland scored the final six points of the game.
Forward Max Strus made 2-of-3 free throws with 24.3 seconds left, guard Caris LeVert split a pair of foul shots with 15.8 seconds remaining and forward Isaac Okoro produced a three-point play with 6.7 seconds remaining.
In the meantime, the Cavs got defensive stops.
Mitchell scored a game-high 33 points. Center Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 29 points on 13-of-14 shooting from the field and 13 rebounds. Point guard Darius Garland and guard Caris LeVert added 16 points apiece. Forward Evan Mobley had 12 points.
Forward Pascal Siakam and guard Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 19 points apiece.
The Cavs went ahead 123-118 when Garland made a 3-pointer with 50.1 seconds left.
After Allen missed a pair of free throws, he scored the next five points for the Cavs, who went ahead 112-107. The Pacers, however, kept firing back.
The Pacers trailed 120-118 with 1:12 left after Siakam got to the hole for a dunk and a layup.
Then Garland hit his clutch shot.
Allen continued to have a rough night at the free-throw line when he missed two foul shots with 7:27 remaining. He finished 3-of-8 shooting on foul shots.
Following Allen's consecutive misses, Haliburton made a 3-pointer, slicing the Pacers' deficit to 107-105 with 6:26 left.
Forward Georges Niang and Garland each made a 3-pointer in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Those shots allowed the Cavs to go ahead 103-96 with 10 minutes left.
The Pacers called timeout after Garland's 3.
Below is some information about the third quarter.
The Pacers ended the third quarter on a 9-2 run and trailed the Cavs 97-94 entering the fourth quarter.
Mitchell had a game-high 31 points through three quarters. Haliburton led the Pacers with 16 points.
After the Pacers deflated the Cavs cushion to 91-85, sixth man LeVert attacked the basket, drew a foul and made two free throws. It resulted in the Cavs going ahead 93-85 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
On the next possession, the Pacers threw the ball out of bounds. The Cavs took advantage of the turnover when LeVert made a jump shot for a 95-85 lead.
LeVert usually plays well against the Pacers, who traded him to the Cavs.
The Cavs had a 10-point advantage (82-72) during a timeout with 6:31 left in the third quarter.
But Allen was called for a foul, and Pacers center Myles Turner made two foul shots to cut Cleveland's lead to 82-74. Allen countered with a successful jump shot, putting the Cavs ahead by 10 points again.
Below is some information about the second quarter.
The Cavs responded well to a tough moment and led the Pacers 70-59 at halftime.
A less-than-ideal play for Cleveland occurred when Mobley tried to draw a charge as Turner posterized him with a dunk. Mobley stood just outside the restricted area, but he was called for a blocking foul. The Cavs didn't challenge the call. Turner made the ensuing free throw for a three-point play, and the Pacers trailed 62-54 with 2:07 left in the second quarter.
The Cavs fired back, though, with a jump shot in the paint by LeVert and a three-point play courtesy of Allen.
Later, LeVert capped the Cavs' first-half scoring by nailing a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.
Mitchell had a game-high 18 points at halftime. Allen had 16 points and nine rebounds. LeVert and Mobley added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Turner and forward Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 11 points apiece through two quarters.
The big men continued to make a difference for the Cavs. Mobley had a ferocious putback dunk off a Mitchell missed 3-pointer (the All-Star guard had made one from deep moments earlier), and Allen sank a hook shot near the hoop.
The Cavs gained a 60-47 lead with 3:42 left in the first half.
Garland had an ugly turnover. He lost the ball while trying to dribble on the perimeter, and the Pacers capitalized amid an 8-2 run.
With the Pacers on a fast break after Garland's turnover, forward Obi Toppin made an alley-oop dunk on an assist from guard T.J. McConnell . The basket cut the Cavs' lead to 47-39 with 7:13 left in the second quarter and prompted a timeout. Toppin also tallied the steal during the play.
The Cavs began the second quarter on a 10-5 run to take a 45-31 lead and compel the Pacers to use a timeout with 9:12 left in the first half.
Niang and Garland made 3-pointers on back-to-back Cavs possessions. Then Garland dished out an assist resulting in a layup by LeVert after he cut through the paint.
Below is some information about the first quarter.
The Cavs led the Pacers 35-26 at the end of the first quarter after Mitchell made a 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left.
Mitchell led the Cavs with 13 points in the opening quarter. Allen scored nine points and would have had more with better free-throw shooting (he made just 1 of 4 foul shots). Allen also grabbed seven rebounds.
Turner and McConnell led the Pacers with six points apiece.
As a team, the Cavs shot 15 of 25 from the field (60%) in the first quarter. The Pacers shot 11 of 21 from the floor (52.4%).
The Cavs had a 22-14 advantage in points in the paint through a quarter.
Mitchell made a 3-pointer and an ensuing foul shot for a four-point play, giving the Cavs a 21-15 advantage with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. The sequence started an 11-3 Cleveland run.
On the Cavs' next possession, Allen grabbed an offensive rebound and made a hook shot. After Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton made a 3-pointer, Niang countered with a 3 of his own, and LeVert drove for a layup and a 28-18 Cleveland lead with 3:21 remaining.
Allen and Mobley were heavily involved in the Cavs' offense in the first half of the opening quarter.
The Cavs led the Pacers 15-11 during a timeout with 6:17 remaining in the first quarter. Allen had seven points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and four rebounds. Mobley had four points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field, an assist and a blocked shot.
However, there was a negative. Mobley picked up his second foul with 6:17 left and checked out of the game.
Below is some pregame information.
The Cavs listed backup guard Sam Merrill (neck) as doubtful, and Merrill was inactive. The Cavs also ruled out forward Dean Wade (sprained knee) and guard Ty Jerome (ankle).
The Pacers listed forward Isaiah Jackson (hamstring) as questionable and ruled out guard/forward Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder). They were inactive.
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The Cavs went 2-2 against the Pacers this regular season. The Cavs lost 125-113 on Oct. 28 in Cleveland and 121-116 on Nov. 3 in Indianapolis. The Cavs won 108-103 on the road on March 18.
The Cavs are now 103-108 in their all-time series with the Pacers. Cleveland is 66-42 at home.
The game was televised locally on Bally Sports Ohio. It was broadcast on the radio via WTAM (1100-AM), WMMS (100.7-FM) and WNZN (89.1-FM).
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs beat Indiana Pacers, clinch 2024 NBA playoff berth
