Caris Levert shines with 31 point performance
The Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 125-113 after Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell all sat out due to injuries.
After scoring 43 points Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mitchell (hamstring) was held out of the first back to back of the season for the Cavs and Darius Garland (hamstring) missed his second consecutive game. The Cavs deployed their 3rd different starting lineup in as many games as Dean Wade received his second consecutive start, while Caris Levert filled in for Mitchell.
Levert came out scorching hot in the first quarter, scoring 22 points and at one point out scoring the Pacers by himself 19-12. However, the Cavs only held a 6 point lead at the end of the quarter as they struggled to limit the Pacers in transition and slow down their bench.
Coach Bickerstaff in pregame stated he’d like his team to control the pace and limit the Pacers fast break opportunities.
“We have to do a great job limiting the possession. Allow our offense to grind a little bit, move a little bit. Make them chase us, shoot our shots so we have floor balance we talk about, limit the turnovers that limit (fast) break opportunities. We want to play at a slower pace to make them uncomfortable.”
In the first half the Cavs gave up 15 fast break points and struggled to keep the Pacers bench rotation under control. Aaron Nesmith led their second unit in the first half with 17 of the total 52 Pacer bench points, en route to them taking the lead from the Cavs. The Pacers ended the half on a 10-3 run, and led 60-49.
The Cavs opened the 3rd quarter with a 13-8 run and cut the lead to as low as 4 in the quarter. Evan Mobley was very assertive on the offensive end as he scored 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting with 3 of his 6 rebounds being on the offensive glass.
Damian Jones, the Cavs usual rotation big saw no action in the second half because there was a Tristan Thompson sighting. The former 2016 champion played 8 minutes while scoring 4 points on 2 dunks and 5 rebounds.
The Cavs began the 4th quarter down 4 points, and cut the lead down to 2 thanks to back to back possessions ending with Mobley scoring on an assist from Max Strus. Tyrese Haliburton hit a 3 to give the Pacers a 5 point lead in response. Haliburton then drained two more 3’s on the next two possessions, and the Cavs found themselves down 10 with just under 3 minutes to go in regulation.
The Pacers ended the game on a 16-6 run as the Cavs couldn’t contain the Pacers from 3 point land late.
When asked about the 4th quarter 3 pointers they gave up, coach Bickerstaff admitted his guys ran out of gas.
“I thought the guys competed, coming off last night’s game, and then being short handed, those guys competed their tails off. Some of those 3’s came because guys ran out of gas. Asking guys to play long stretches, you tip your hat off to the guys that went out there, I was proud of their effort.”
Evan Mobley finished his night with 33 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. He was notably much more aggressive in the second half, what does coach Bickerstaff think changed?
“In the second half, he didn’t like how he played in the first half, and he set his mind that he was going to be forceful. It wasn’t just the half court game, you saw him pushing the ball in transition, finding gaps and attacking. I think he made his mind up that was going to try to help us win this game and do whatever it took, and I think he did.”
The Cavaliers fall to 1-2 and host the New York Knicks at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Tuesday night.
