Game Rewind: Pacers 135, Cavaliers 126

Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

While it’s still just December, Thursday night's sold-out game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers had all the intensity and energy of a matchup in May.

The Pacers (19-17) had their best shooting night of the year in a 135-126 win over the Cavs (22-14) in front of a packed house in Indianapolis. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Pacers against the Cavs and knots the season series at 1-1.

Indiana, now sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, has won four of its last five games.

Trailing by a single point, the Pacers went on a 12-2 run from 5:38 to 3:07 in the fourth quarter. The Cavs were able to make it a one-possession game with 94 seconds left, but forward Aaron Nesmith’s layup through contact and ensuing rebound and free throws gave the Blue & Gold some breathing room.

Indiana made all six of its free throw attempts in the final 44 seconds to secure the win.

The loudest cheers of the night came off a posterizing dunk by Nesmith with 4:26 left in the game over 6-9 Cavs center Jarrett Allen.

Overall, the Pacers shot 56.5 percent from the field, including making 19 of 31 3-point attempts (61.3 percent).

Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton had 29 points on 10-for-19 shooting (6-for-8 3-point) to go along with nine assists while Buddy Hield hit five 3-pointers en route to 25 points. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench, Nesmith had 22 points and Myles Turner had 14 points to go along with 12 rebounds and six blocks.

“When you do the little things right, and when you put your effort into the game, the game rewards you,” Turner said after the win. “ I'm a big believer in that. I think that’s what this group has done.  Everybody comes in on their off-days, everybody's in the weight room, everybody's putting  extra shots up after practice … those may be little things, but that stuff matters.”

All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell led the visitors with 28 points, point guard Darius Garland had 18 and Allen had 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Cavs shot 52 percent and made 12 3-pointers.

On top of his strong offensive outing, Nesmith was praised for his defensive work and recent play by his teammates.

“It’s the most fun I've had playing basketball in a very long time,” Nesmith said after the win. “You know, it's just a great group of guys. I love everybody on this team. We all love each other and cheer for each other's success. It's just it's been a super fun year.”

Indiana’s 135 points are especially notable because the Cavs have the No. 1 net defense and are giving up the fewest points per game of any team at 105.5. The 135 points are the most given up by the Cavs this season.

The Pacers had their best shooting night of the season against the top-ranked defense, shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 61.3 percent from 3-point.

The Cavs won the battle inside against the Pacers, outrebounding the Blue & Gold 44-32 and outscoring them 72-48 in the paint.

In the first half there were 11 lead changes and six ties between the two teams. Both teams shot at a high clip, as the Pacers made 24 of 45 (53.3 percent)  attempts and the Cavs hit 28 of 50 (56 percent) in the first 24 minutes.

The Pacers came out firing, as Hield – who leads the NBA in 3-pointers made this season – caught the opening tip won by Turner, spun around and made one from deep three seconds into the game.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Hield’s 3-pointer was the fastest 3-point make in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) and beats Pacers legend Reggie Miller’s 3-point make at 11:56 of the first quarter on March 5, 2000, against the Warriors.

Out of a timeout with 6:20 left in the first quarter, trailing 16-15, Turner threw down a dunk off a feed from Haliburton before scoring on a putback layup to give the Blue & Gold the lead back.

After trading the lead three more times, the Cavs went on a 12-6 run in the final 2:16 to lead 34-29 at the end of the opening frame.

Mathurin was red-hot to start the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer, converting an and-one and then scoring back-to-back baskets to put the Blue & Gold back ahead at 47-43 with 7:24 left in the half.

In the final 2:38 of the half, the Cavaliers went on a 10-5 run. At the buzzer, Nesmith got a layup to go through contact for the Pacers to cut it to 68-64.

The Pacers shot 13-for-20 (9-for-14 3-point) in the third quarter to take a three-point lead into the final 12 minutes, with Haliburton accounting for 14 points in the period.

Following a score by the Cavs’ Evan Mobley out of intermission, Nesmith and Hield each made 3-pointers to retie the game at 70 two minutes into the third quarter.

Hield then made two more 3-pointers to give the Pacers the lead back at 76-73, but the Cavs answered with a 9-0 run behind four different scorers to go back up 82-76.

Haliburton then showed his range, hitting three straight 3-pointers to give the Blue & Gold a 96-93 lead with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was given two technical fouls with 1:29 on the clock after arguing a non-call with referees and exited the game and assistant Lloyd Pierce took over head coaching duties on the floor.

After Haliburton made his fourth 3-pointer of the third quarter, the Pacers led 99-96 going into the final frame.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Cavs scored 10 unanswered points – behind four different scorers – prompting a Pacers timeout with the Blue & Gold down 106-99.

With five minutes left, the teams were tied at 119.

From there, the Pacers came up clutch in the final ticks.

“They're a very resilient group,” Pierce said. “.. I think whatever we give them from a coaching standpoint, they take it and they try and apply it and I think that's what happened in the fourth quarter.”

The Pacers will conclude their 2022 portion of the schedule against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday before hosting the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

The Cavs gave up a season-high 135 points to the Pacers.

Haliburton has scored 20 or more points in a game 20 times this season.

Turner’s six blocks are the most by him in a game this season. He is currently ranked third in the NBA for blocks per game at 2.2.

Turner now has 10 double-doubles this season.

The Pacers are 10-2 when shooting 50 percent or better.

Hield has made five or more 3-pointers 13 times this season. He has made multiple 3-pointers in each of the last 13 games.

Seven of the eight Cavs players finished in double-digit scoring.

The Pacers have come back to win nine times this season when trailing by 10 or more points at any point.

“(Nesmith) is the ultimate team guy. He plays the role that a lot of guys in the NBA are afraid to play.” – Pierce on Nesmith

“A lot of guys don’t like to do the dirty work, but you know somebody has to do it. When you have someone who enjoys doing the dirty work like me,  I think that helps the team win games. So I'm gonna continue to do it. I enjoy doing it.” – Nesmith on his playing style

“That’s just Buddy being Buddy. The one tonight was crazy off the tip – I've never seen that before. He puts a lot of work into his shot. To see it fall is effortless.” – Turner on Hield’s recent stretch of hot shooting

“It was amazing. It was probably the best dunk I’ve ever seen in person. It was a much-needed play at that moment. Man, just a big-time play from him. We watched it in the back and dudes were excited. I’m going to watch that a bunch tonight, that’s for sure.” – Haliburton on Nesmith’s poster dunk

“Buddy had a lot of threes and Tyrese had a lot of threes and we were able to feed off that. The crowd as well, I’m gonna give credit to the crowd. I felt like they were there the whole game and pretty much helped us to close the game.” – Mathurin on scoring 135 against Cleveland’s tough defense

Indiana had its best overall and 3-point shooting night of the season against the No. 1 net defense in the NBA, shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 61.3 percent from 3-point.

The Pacers close out 2022 by hosting Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and the Los Angeles Clippers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>