Darius Garland scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, fueling a late 13-point run that sent the Cleveland Cavaliers past the struggling Indiana Pacers 120-116 on Tuesday for their fourth win in five games.
Indiana, the defending Eastern Conference champs, lost its 13th straight to set a franchise record in its NBA era. The Pacers are now a league-worst 6-31 and are one loss away from matching the Washington Wizards‘ 14-game skid for the league’s longest skid this season.
The Cavs weren’t even at full strength in this one.
Coach Kenny Atkinson gave All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell a day off just hours after team officials announced Max Strus was expected to miss at least another month because of a left foot injury. Atkinson said that the updated timeline was not because Strus had suffered a setback. Cleveland also lost forward Dean Wade in the first half with a bruised left knee.
And yet, Cleveland managed to erase the nine-point deficit they faced entering the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley had 20 points while Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each scored 19. Merrill went 6 of 10 on 3-pointers.
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