Fresh off handing the Cleveland Cavaliers a rare loss, the red-hot Indiana Pacers look to make it two straight over their Central Division foes in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
The Pacers, winners of six straight, halted the NBA-best Cavaliers’ 12-game winning streak in an 108-93 road win Sunday. Indiana extended the Eastern Conference’s longest current winning streak while handing the Cavs their first defeat since Dec. 8 and first at home since Nov. 27.
Trailing by 13 at halftime, Indiana outscored Cleveland 68-40 in the second half. Andrew Nembhard’s 19 points led six double-digit scorers in the Pacers’ victory.
For coach Rick Carlisle’s team, a switch was made after the first-half buzzer sounded. He hopes it’s a style of play that continues.
“We picked up our level of aggression and force in the second half,” Carlisle said. “We were really tied together. They missed some open shots, but so did we. Our calling card has got to be our aggression and our depth. In the second half, we played the way we need to play to be competitive in a game like this.”
After a lackluster start, Indiana hasn’t lost in 2025 while climbing to the No. 5 seed in the conference standings entering Monday.
Pascal Siakam, who scored 18 points on Sunday, leads the team with 19.9 points per game. Tyrese Haliburton, who follows with 18.1 ppg and paces Indiana with 8.8 assists per contest, tweaked his hamstring and didn’t return after halftime. Haliburton is listed as doubtful for Tuesday’s rematch.
Cleveland isn’t accustomed to losing at all, especially not at home. The Cavaliers fell to 20-2 on their court this season but will relish the chance at getting payback on Tuesday.
“We had two days off to prepare for that game,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said of Sunday’s loss. “We didn’t do a great job from a coaching standpoint. We’ll get another shot at these guys in Indy. It’ll be a good test for us to see if we can bounce back.”
In his first year in Cleveland, Atkinson has surpassed expectations as the team approaches the halfway point of the season. Nonetheless, he wants to see his team continue to play a full 48 minutes.
“We’ve got to give better halftime speeches, I think,” Atkinson said. “Our standards have got to be higher. I think we tend to relax when we get these leads, and this is how the NBA is now. A snap of your finger and all of a sudden, it’s a tie game.”
On the season, Donovan Mitchell’s 22.8 ppg lead the Cavaliers, followed by Darius Garland (20.9) and Evan Mobley (18.9). Garland leads the team in assists per game (6.7) while Jarrett Allen (10.2) is the top rebounder.
Tuesday marks the teams’ last meeting until April 10 in Cleveland.
–Field Level Media
