Indiana Pacers contain Cleveland Cavaliers, ending hosts’ 12-game NBA winning streak

CLEVELAND – Despite losing Tyrese Haliburton due to hamstring tightness, the Indiana Pacers used a balanced offence and a “connected” defence to end the hosts Cleveland Cavaliers’ 12-game National Basketball Association (NBA) winning streak with a 108-93 victory on Jan 12.

Andrew Nembhard led the way with 19 points, Pascal Siakam added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Myles Turner recorded a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double for Indiana.

“There was nothing to lose, this is the best team in the league right now,” Nembhard said of the Cavaliers on the FanDuel Sports Network.

“We had to play hard, play together, and put some more physicality in the game on the defensive side of the ball, and play off of that...

“We were connected (on defence). We didn’t fool around, even when we made mistakes, we helped out each other, and just made the next play.”

The Pacers were down 13 points coming out of half-time and did not have Haliburton for the second half.

But, with six Indiana scorers recording at least 11 points, the Pacers came up with the right offensive formula to complement an outstanding showing on the other end of the floor. They outscored Cleveland 68-40 in the second half.

Said Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson: “What disappointed me was our first half was phenomenal, defensively, and then the second half, we fell off. So, we couldn’t sustain our defence. Just disappointed.”

Indiana became the first team to hold the high-scoring Cavaliers to fewer than 101 points this season. Cleveland also had reached the century mark in 41 straight games, and in 31 in a row at home.

The Pacers held the Cavaliers to just 33-of-83 shooting from the floor (39.8 per cent), including 11-of-41 from three-point range (26.8 per cent). Indiana limited Cleveland’s season-long leading scorers Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland to 19 and 20 points, respectively.

Evan Mobley had 16 points and Jarrett Allen had 11, the only other Cavaliers to score more than seven.

Indiana’s Jarace Walker had a career-high 12 rebounds, matching Mobley’s game high, leading Indiana to a 50-44 advantage on the glass. The Pacers used their rebounding edge to push the tempo, outscoring Cleveland 15-3 on fast-break points.

Walker’s eight points also helped the Indiana bench outscore the Cleveland reserves, 42-24. Obi Toppin led Indiana’s second unit with 12 points, and Thomas Bryant scored 11 on five-of-five shooting from the floor.

Bennedict Mathurin added another 12 points for Indiana.

Elsewhere, the Denver Nuggets, fired by standout performances from Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic, rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-101.

Westbrook scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 19 points with 18 rebounds and nine assists and the Nuggets outscored the Mavs 33-12 in the fourth quarter to seize the victory in Texas.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks, who were again without star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

“I believe we lead the league in double-figure comebacks, and that’s a catch-22 because I don’t like the fact that we’ve been down that many times (in) double figures,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

“What I love about this group is how resilient they are. We get down, we stay the course, there is no panic... we stay the course and try to find a way. Didn’t like the start, but I loved the finish, and that’s all that counts.”

In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 44 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Knicks in a 140-106 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 22 for the Bucks, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Antetokounmpo told ESPN: “We’ve gotta get our stuff together... We did not beat Boston. We did not beat the Cavs. We didn’t beat the Knicks. Those are the top three teams, and we’ve played horribly against them.”

Meanwhile, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox returned from a three-game injury absence to score 26 points and pull down nine rebounds for the Kings in a 124-119 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.

Domantas Sabonis added 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Kings and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 against his former team, who honoured him with a video tribute early in the game.

The Bulls’ Zach LaVine topped all scorers with 36 points and had 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are set to resume their home schedules with games on Jan 13 (Jan 14, Singapore time).

They had games postponed following a spate of wildfires in the Los Angeles area that began on Jan 7.

The Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs, while the Clippers welcome the Miami Heat. REUTERS, AFP