The Cleveland Cavaliers, coming off a 119-106 loss to the Wizards Friday night, travelled to Indiana Saturday and again lost, 105-90, to the Pacers, completing an 0-2 back-to-back.
Kevin Love did not see action tonight as he’s not yet cleared to play in back-to-backs, but Brandon Knight played in his first game in a Cavalier uniform and scored 9 points on 3-3 shooting. Let’s get into it all.
| Name | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | AST | REB | PTS |
| PG – Collin Sexton | 30 | 6-14 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| SG – Deng Adel | 25 | 1-7 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| SF – David Nwaba | 23 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| PF – Lary Nance Jr. | 39 | 6-11 | 3-5 | 1-2 | 2 | 10 | 16 |
| C – Marquese Chriss | 24 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Jordan Clarkson | 31 | 8-16 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 18 |
| Brandon Knight | 12 | 3-3 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Mattthew Dellavedova | 23 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Ante Zizic | 17 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Jaron Blossomgame | 15 | 1-6 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Channing Frye | 2 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Again, Kevin Love sat the second half of the back-to-back out, meaning Marquese Chriss got the start in just his second game with the Cavaliers. Brandon Knight, aquired in the trade with Houston that sent Chriss, Knight, and a first round pick to Cleveland, also made his Cavalier debut.
Cavaliers were unable to overcome fast start from Pacers
Myles Turner and the Pacers got off to a fast start, as Turner scored 10 of their first 14 (including two threes) as the Pacers jumped out to a quick 14-7 lead. The Cavaliers really struggled offensively in the first, trailing 30-17 after one.
Brandon Knight came off the bench for the first time in a Cavalier uniform early in the second, and provided an immediate boost, knocking down two quick three pointers. He would go on to finish with 9 points on 3-3 shooting, every shot from three. The Cavaliers would still trail at halftime, 54-42, as Sexton scored 11 in the first two periods. The third was much of the same, as the Pacers stretched the lead out to as big as 18. A little run by the Cavs cut it to 11, but it wouldn’t get much better than that.
Indiana managed to maintain their lead through the fourth quarter, and held on for a 105-90 win at home over the Cavaliers. Bojan Bogdanovic lead the way for the Pacers, scoring 23, while the Cavs attack was lead by Jordan Clarkson, who dropped 18 off the bench and continues to be one of the league’s top bench scorers, while Sexton and Nance scored 16 each. Nance added 10 rebounds.
Young Bull experiences dropoff
After scoring 27 in each of the last two games, Collin Sexton followed up with a 16 point, 5 rebound, 4 assist performance, which still beats his season average in all three.
For my taste, Sexton was too hesitant to attack tonight. He continues to knock down the threes, making all three tonight, but didn’t attack as much as I’d like. Hopefully he continues to attack the rim going forward, as we talked about in last night’s recap.
Injury Report
- John Henson is still out with a wrist injury.
- Kevin Love, after returning from a 50-game absence last night, sits out the second half of the back-to-back
- Cedi Osman continues to miss time with an ankle injury. The Cavaliers hope he can return to the lineup soon.
