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.
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