After Andrew Nembhard missed the final two shots of meaningful Pacers possessions in the fourth quarter, it was a sigh of relief.
Whew.
With a Cavs win, they prevented a free fall into the play-in game, guaranteed a playoff spot, and even gave themselves a chance at winning the Central Division.
Whew.
Donovan Mitchell look renewed offensively, was moving around (fairly) well, and had his first 30-point game since February.
Whew.
It wasn’t all good for the Cavs but it was just good enough at just the right time to give some hope heading into the playoffs.
The first four minutes of the game would really be the only time the Pacers were a bit off offensively all night. They started the game with more turnovers (4) than points (3) in the first four minutes.
A big point of contention all night was how well the Cavs could control the paint. The Pacers are notably weak in that area, and that’s where the Cavs have a distinct advantage over them. 6 of the Cavs first 7 shots came from in the paint.
You read the box score and you see 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block for Evan Mobley in just over 29 minutes, and you’re relatively unimpressed. But, you also miss plays like thesewhere Mobley is able to take Pascal Siakam off the dribble, take him into the post and show his touch in the lane.
Quickly after that, Mobley has a dribble drive assist to Jarrett Allen and then comes up with an impressive block – all of this within a minute stretch. These are the type of stretches where Mobley shows how impactful he really can be.
At one point the Cavs hit six straight field goals which helped them on their way to 35 points in the quarter.
The first quarter was about two guys for the Cavs: Allen, and Mitchell.
Mitchell looked good. Like, not all the way back but as good as he’s looked in quite some time. This was his first 30-point game since February. He had 13 first quarter points with two made three-pointers.
The real encouraging sign for Mitchell was his paint points. There’s been a lot made on the lack of explosiveness and agility limiting his ability to be Mitchell and limiting his drive effectiveness. In the first quarter, 6 of his 13 points were in the paint with 4 of them coming in the restricted area. Mitchell would go 1-5 in the paint but 5-5 in the restricted area on the game.
Allen was also huge for the Cavs early. He played all 12 minutes, and put up 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. With Mobley in some early foul trouble (2 in the first quarter), Allen’s play was key in their nine-point lead.
Does anyone have anything on the Cavs TJ McConnell beef? Tristan Thompson was demonstrative in any McConnell shot, and Georges Niang and McConnell got into it later which led to a double technical.
The old Darius Garland is in there somewhere? When getting a big on the perimeter switches, he’s had trouble converting it into points. Before, he would make bigs look like swiss cheese. This year, it’s looked like a one-man salsa dance. However, tonight he would make them pay early and late. More on that later.
With that said, the second quarter also further highlights some of the play discrepancies at times between Garland and Mitchell. In his typical second quarter shift, Garland had three turnovers in four minutes. He had back-to-back turnovers that led to a 6-0 Pacers run and Bickerstaff at the 7-minute mark.
Garland also had 5 points and 2 assists in that stretch, but the peaks and valleys of his play have been killer at times. The consistent inconsistency from quarter to quarter or game to game can lead to big swings. The biggest problem right now is Garland is trying to be a home-run hitter when he is really best being a doubles hitter.
The difference in how the team can be ran was noticeable when Mitchell replayed Garland in the second. The Cavs were a +3 the second half of the second quarter and did not turn the ball over. The quality of possessions and control of the game changes with Mitchell at the point.
The second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game. Every time the Cavs made a shot or tried to push their lead further, the Pacers would punch right back. It was a back-and-forth quarter and was a back and forth game all night.
The Cavs had a 70-point half – they’ve done it eight times this year but three times in the last 10 games. Before tonight, the Cavs were 4-4 in games they had a 70-point half.
The Cavs shot 60 FG%, were a +2 in 3PM versus the Pacers, were within four of bench points with the Pacers and were a +3 in second chance points. Allen and Mitchell led the way, but the Cavs had four scorers in double-digits at half.
We talked about that inside advantage: At half, the Cavs were a +14 in points in the paint and +4 in rebounds. Mobley and Allen combine for 27 points and 12 rebounds while Myles Turner & Siakam combined for 22 points and 7 rebounds.
The Pacers offensive pace puts a ton of pressure on you – you could feel it and see it early. McConnell was especially effective in pushing the pace, and he helped push the Pacers to a 14-1 fast break advantage at half time. He also had more points and assists than Garland in the first half.
McConnell really caused the Cavs issues with his mid-range game and ability to find guys. Really, the Pacers are just a well-oiled, well coached second unit and are always moving. For the Cavs team with guys who can fall asleep off the ball, this is a challenge.
Let me say this: If the Cavs play the Pacers in a first round series, LeVert may earn his entire salary in one series. LeVert notoriously runs hot against the Pacers, a team he once called home. He had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and a steal at half time. He cooled off in the second half with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists but he was a +4 in the half. LeVert always gets up for the Pacers matchups and tonight was no different.
The third quarter was more punching back and forth with the Pacers catching the Cavs a little bit on the chin. They ended the quarter on a 9-2 run and cut the Cavs lead to three.
If the first quarter was about Mitchell and Allen, so was the third quarter. The two combined for 21 of the Cavs 27 points. Mitchell tossed in 4 FTA and Allen was 4-4 from the field. Those two were the Cavs offense for the first three quarters.
The third quarter is the first and only quarter the Pacers won. It was also their most efficient quarter with 57.1% shooting except they only made two threes.
The Pacers were creating a lot of issues inside in the third – they were 7-11 from the restricted area and had 16 of their 35 points in the paint.
The longer the fourth quarter went on, the more the Clippers game started creeping back into the memory. The Cavs were holding onto the lead but not without a fight from the Pacers. As quick as the Cavs pushed it to a 7-point lead under the 9-minute mark, the Pacers cut it to a 2-point lead at the 6:30 mark.
Despite the Pacers probing, they never led in the fourth quarter. In fact, they led for 1:13 all night.
We talk about Garland getting his mojo back, and also destroying big switches, and the shot with :50 seconds left certainly did both. The Cavs were reeling a bit and with a miss, it would have been a one possession game for the Pacers with a chance to take a lead. Instead, Garland rescued an ugly possessionwith a critical stepback three.
Even though Mobley got switched onto Tyrese Haliburton late, he did his job to shut the well off. But, when Turner came over for the pick-and-roll, it brought back more memories of Mobley and Allen defending action against Paul George and the Clippers when it mattered most. Except this time, the Cavs were able to force the ball out of Haliburton’s hands to a Turner for a three-point miss.
One thing Isaac Okoro does really well is push the ball off misses and turnovers. He is always running the lanes and forcing Garland and Mitchell to look for him as he takes off. That skill set off the bench is valuable as it can change the feel and momentum of a game.
Speaking of Okoro: He has only one three-point made in his last 4 games. He is 1-7 in that stretch.
The Pacers didn’t have a scorer over 20+ points but did have eight players in double-digits. The Cavs had five players in double-digits.
Georges Niang loudly had a +2 on the night. We’ll explain why this so important soon.
Who led the Cavs in assists? Oh, they’re starting SF Max Strus with nine. That was as many as Mitchell and Garland combined.
Mobley would have played more minutes had he not been in foul trouble but was battling it all night.
For team that thrives on the break and is one of the best bench scoring team in the league, the Pacers were only +8 in bench points and +5 in fast break points. Those numbers matter but for a team that isn’t their strength, the Cavs managed to keep it close enough where either didn’t come back to bite them.
The Cavs three best plus-minus lineups tonight contained Allen, LeVert and Mitchell. Those three-man were a +16 together.
There’s a chance the Cavs play the Pacers again very soon in a first round series. If that happens, it could be a fun one.
Somehow, with a Bucks loss tonight, the Cavs still have a chance to be Central Division champions. Yes, JB Bickerstaff could earn that title on Sunday. If the Bucks lose on the road to the Magic, and the Cavs win at home against the Hornets, they will win the Central Division due to a tiebreaker.
In a more unlikely scenario, add that and the Knicks losing to the Bulls and the Cavs would be a 2 seed and Central Division champs.
Whatever it may be, it’ll be a Sunday funday to see where the Cavs end up as there will be a full NBA slate to wrap up the year.
Up next: Sunday at 1PM (ET) against the Charlotte Hornets.
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