Post a Free Blog

Submit A Press Release

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Action
Animation
ATP Tour (ATP)
Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Breaking News
Business
Business
Business Newsletter
Call of Duty (CALLOFDUTY)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Car
Celebrity
Champions Tour (CHAMP)
Comedy
CONCACAF
Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)
Crime
Dark Comedy
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
Documentary and Foreign
Drama
eSports
European Tour (EPGA)
Fashion
FIFA
FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC)
FIFA World Cup (FIFA)
Fighting
Football
Formula 1 (F1)
Fortnite
Golf
Health
Hockey
Horror
IndyCar Series (INDY)
International Friendly (FRIENDLY)
Kids & Family
League of Legends (LOL)
LPGA
Madden
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
MLS
Movie and Music
Movie Trailers
Music
Mystery
NASCAR Cup Series (NAS)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Women's Soccer (NWSL)
NBA Development League (NBAGL)
NBA2K
NCAA Baseball (NCAABBL)
NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)
NCAA Football (NCAAF)
NCAA Hockey (NCAAH)
Olympic Mens (OLYHKYM)
Other
Other Sports
Overwatch
PGA
Politics
Premier League (PREM)
Romance
Sci-Fi
Science
Soccer
Sports
Sports
Technology
Tennis
Thriller
Truck Series (TRUCK)
True Crime
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Uncategorized
US
Valorant
Western
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Women’s NCAA Basketball (WNCAAB)
World
World Cup Qualifier (WORLDCUP)
WTA Tour (WTA)
Xfinity (XFT)
XFL
0
-- Advertisement --spot_img
HomeSportsBasketballCavaliers' rematch with Pacers tips off new in-season tournament

Cavaliers’ rematch with Pacers tips off new in-season tournament

Add to Favorite
Added to Favorite


The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers get the honor of being the first two participants in the new NBA in-season tournament when they tip off the event Friday night in Indianapolis.

Seven games are slated on opening night of the soccer-inspired tournament — none earlier than the scheduled tip in Indiana — during which the Cavaliers and Pacers will join the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons in round-robin play in East Group A.

The game is a rematch of the Pacers’ 125-113 win at Cleveland last Saturday, a contest in which Indiana reserve Aaron Nesmith scorched the Cavaliers for 26 points while the hosts were without star guard Donovan Mitchell.

Indiana, which was 2-0 at the time, has since struggled, falling 112-105 at home to the Chicago Bulls and then 155-104 at Boston on Wednesday night. The 105- and 104-point efforts came after the Pacers had scorched the Washington Wizards and Cavaliers for an average of 134 points in their first two games.

“Ugly game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said before leaving Boston. “They played great, but we allowed them to play as great as they played.”

Though allowing 155 points captured headlines, the Pacers’ defeat was marked by a second straight game of poor shooting from beyond the 3-point arc.

Indiana went 20-for-43 from deep in the win over the Wizards and then 15-for-38 against the Cavaliers. Nesmith, Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield each contributed six to the 35 total in that span.

But the club has gone cold from beyond the arc in the two losses, missing 66 of 83 attempts. Nesmith has gone just 2-for-10 in those games, while Andrew Nembhard has been 1-for-11 and Bennedict Mathurin 1-for-7.

Haliburton sat out the debacle in Boston with a sprained right ankle. The NBA, which has cautioned teams against resting healthy players in the in-season tournament, hopes the Indiana star can return for the event curtain-raiser.

Mitchell appears to have fully recovered from a strained right hamstring that sidelined him for the first game against Indiana. He scored 26 points when the Cavaliers lost 109-91 in the opener of a home-and-home series against the Knicks, then put on a show at Madison Square Garden in the rematch Wednesday, pouring in 30 points in a 95-89 win that ended a three-game losing streak.

Though the Cavaliers as a team and Mitchell as an individual scored four more points than in the first meeting, coach J.B. Bickerstaff observed the real difference was at the other end of the court, where they held the Knicks to 89 points rather than 109.

“We showed our true grit,” Bickerstaff said. “We didn’t have an offensive explosion. But the way we win and the way we will be most successful is if we are a great defensive team, which we have the capability of being. That’s where the Cavaliers hang their hat — being able to get stops on demand.”

The Pacers’ 125 points in the first matchup with Cleveland were the most the Cavs have allowed this season. Indiana shot 49.0 percent, with Nesmith going 10-for-16 and Myles Turner 7-for-14 en route to 20 points.

Haliburton (21 points, 13 assists) and Turner (20 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles in the win, which came despite 33- and 31-point outbursts by Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert, respectively, in Mitchell’s absence.

–Field Level Media

Subscribe to get Latest News Updates

Latest News

You may like more
more

NCAAF News: Top 10 CFB Player Props For Rivalry Weekend

It's Saturday. You have a big ol' turkey sandwich...

NCAAF News: No. 10 Indiana resumes playoff push with Purdue duel on tap

In the final analysis, last week's 38-15 loss at...

High-scoring Ohio State primed to test Pitt

After routing three straight mid-major opponents, Ohio State moves...

Work-in-progress Virginia back home to challenge Holy Cross

Virginia resumes the learning process against a first-time opponent...