Dribbles: Cavs’ Win Streak Goes Kerplunk In Rare Shoddy Showing, Loss To Pacers

January 12, 2025

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ ugly 108-93 home loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. …

1. You’ll have nights like that shooting the ball. But you should never have nights like that when it comes to second-half defense.

2. That seemed to be the message from coach Kenny Atkinson, who watched his team blow a 53-40 halftime lead by surrendering 68 points in the final 24 minutes.

3. So the 12-game win streak is over and the reasons are many. For starters, the Cavs (33-5) shot 39.8 percent from the field. That’s pretty uncharacteristic for a team that usually makes about 50 percent.

4. When you can’t hit the broad side of a barn … well, yeah. You need to find other ways to win.

5. Atkinson on that very topic: “I don’t think we can blame this one on missed shots. That was part of it. … But when you have defensive talent and don’t execute, you’d think that’s more mental than anything.”

6. Interestingly, the Pacers (22-18) didn’t start clicking until All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with a hamstring issue at halftime. But that was just a coincidence. The bottom line is the Cavs collapsed and Indiana simply took advantage.

7. Darius Garland scored 20 points and passed for seven assists. Donovan Mitchell scored 19. Evan Mobley went for 16 points and 12 rebounds. But Dean Wade, Sam Merrill, Max Strus and Isaac Okoro combined to shoot 4-of-21 and Caris LeVert was 0-of-3. That’s not to place blame. It’s just to show that nearly everyone struggled.

8. Garland on Indiana’s pressure: “They were speeding us up, getting us out of rhythm. The missed shots played a part, so give them credit. They got us out of whack.”

9. So yeah, this was a night to forget for a team that’s had plenty of nights to remember. The Cavs aren’t worried. The locker room vibe was light. But it was also serious enough to know that you can’t give up 70 points in a half and also win.

10. Mitchell said as much. “To give up that many points,” he said, “it just can’t happen.”

11. Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 19 points and Pascal Siakam had 18. Indiana had six guys reach double-figures overall and has now won six in a row.

12. Anyway, no need to keep harping on that. The Cavs say they get it. They have a tough stretch coming up — at Indiana, at Oklahoma City, at Minnesota, oh my. They say they know that, too.

13. That’s right, the Cavs and Pacers will do it again Tuesday, this time at Indiana. “Good teams go out there and fix it,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got another game against them in two days.”

14. That the Cavaliers do. A couple of tweaks here and there, a couple of their normal shots going in, a couple (or five) more defensive stands, and the Cavs will be right back where we are used to seeing them. On this night, though, it was a team that we’re not used to seeing. It happens. This is the NBA. On to the next.