The Cleveland Cavaliers squandered an eight-lead entering the final quarter and lost 114-111 to the Indiana Pacers in their final game before the All-Star break.
There was a chance the Cleveland Cavaliers could have entered the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak, but it was not meant to be. The Indiana Pacers came to town and put together a 4th quarter rally to hand the Cavs a narrow 114-111 loss.
Entering the final quarter of play, Cleveland was up 90-82 and things appeared to be trending in the right direction. The problem was the 4th quarter was pretty much all Indiana and the Cavaliers were on the wrong end of the spectrum momentum wise. The Pacers outscored the Cavaliers 32-21 in the 4th and that was enough to hand Cleveland the loss.
Another good game for Collin Sexton
As per usual, Collin Sexton led the Cavs scoring attack with 32 points. This was the second straight game with 30+ points and the 10th straight with 22 or more. Sexton was also the Cavaliers assist leader with 10, a season-high and his first double-double of the season.
Young Bull seems to be rounding into form and the All-Star break unfortunately seems to be coming at the wrong time. On the other hand, this break could give Sexton a chance to recover and refocus as the Cavs look to make a push for a playoff spot.
Big games from the big men
Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade were the Cavaliers starting big men and both contributed in a big way. Allen had his usual double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Wade had 17 points of his own with 6 rebounds. Wade went an impressive 5-8 from deep while Allen made 6 of 7 from the field and went 5-5 from the free throw line.
The Cavs starting big men weren’t the only ones to make an impact. JaVale McGee chipped in 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
