Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana 120-116 on Tuesday night in Indianapolis, sending the Pacers to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five. Sam Merrill also scored 19.
The Cavaliers won despite resting Donovan Mitchell, the fourth-leading scorer in the league at 29.8 points per game, and losing power forward Dean Wade after eight minutes when he re-injured his left knee.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 22 points, Jay Huff scored 20 and Johnny Furphy had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Pacers’ most recent win was Dec. 8 over the Sacramento Kings.
Indiana, which had lost 12 consecutive games four prior times since joining the NBA in 1976, owns the worst home record in the league at 5-15.
A see-saw fourth quarter saw the teams trade three leads before the Cavaliers took command with an 11-0 run, fueled by two hoops apiece from Garland and Allen to go up 109-102.
Siakam converted a three-point play with 34 seconds left to pull the Pacers within 115-114, but Garland answered with a pull-up jumper with 12 ticks remaining to restore a three-point lead.
Allen delivered the dagger and closed out the scoring by making two free throws with 2.8 seconds on the clock.
The Pacers matched their largest lead at the end of the third quarter on an Aaron Nesmith 3-pointer, making it 93-84. Huff had seven points in the period after Cleveland had briefly gone ahead.
Huff led all players with 13 points and Nesmith had 10 in the first half, helping Indiana hold a 60-53 advantage at the break. Garland paced the Cavaliers with 11 points.
Pacers center Isaiah Jackson missed his eighth game in a row after suffering a concussion on Dec. 22, while forward Obi Toppin is out for at least another month following right foot surgery.
Cleveland received a blow earlier in the day when small forward Max Strus’ return from offseason surgery on his left foot was delayed until at least mid-February.
–Field Level Media
