Indiana Pacers comeback effort falls short in road loss to Cleveland Cavaliers

The Pacers were in Cleveland on Friday night

The Indiana Pacers were in Cleveland on Friday night to battle the Cavaliers. It was the final road game of the 2023-24 regular season for Indiana, and they would clinch a playoff spot with a victory. It was an important game.

The Cavaliers would also secure a trip to the postseason with a win, so tensions were going to be high in this outing. There was a ton at stake, and it was effectively a Play-In game. It was reasonable to expect some nerves early.

Indiana scored first on a Myles Turner layup, and he drew a foul on Evan Mobley in the process. The frontcourt battle is typically important against the Cavaliers, so Turner starting off with an effective play was big.

But the Pacers wouldn't knock down another shot for 2:58 of play. Their defense was strong early, so they were able to hang around and only trailed 7-5 at the time. But their offensive level had to be better if they were going to keep up with the hosts.

Just before the halfway point of the first quarter, Cleveland led 15-11. Jarrett Allen had seven points for the Cavaliers, who were dominating the inside. The Pacers looked a little tight early and needed to find their groove.

Cleveland continued to make life hard for Indiana and led by eight later in the first quarter, but star Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton answered with a big three. They needed it for momentum. The Cavs had a ton of juice and looked unstoppable at the time.

T.J. McConnell entered the game for the blue and gold and instantly got them in gear. He scored six quick points to ignite the Pacers offense and match the Cavaliers scoring, something his team desperately needed. They trailed by a half dozen points at the time.

That advantage stuck around for the final few minutes of the quarter until Donovan Mitchell buried a three just before the buzzer of the period. The Cavaliers were ahead 35-26 at the time, with Mitchell's 13 points leading all scorers. McConnell and Turner had six for Indiana.

The second quarter started with the Cavaliers as the better team. Their lead reached 12 after 2.5 minutes — Indiana's bench was not playing well despite being a group that has been reliable of late. The Cavs edge reached 14 on their next possession, which prompted a timeout from Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.

Over the next few minutes, the blue and gold cut into the deficit. McConnell kept making plays, and the Pacers finally got some stops. They trimmed Cleveland's edge to eight with 7:12 to go in the first half.

The Pacers second quarter offense was much better, but their defense was rocky at best. They continued to take the ball out of the net as the Cavs just kept scoring. Cleveland reached 60 points with 3:42 to go in the first half.

Late in the half, Turner threw down one of his best-ever dunks as he finished over Cavs center Evan Mobley. It was one of the best slams of Turner's career, and it ended up being a three-point play. Indiana was trading baskets late in the half and wasn't quite putting a dent in the Cavaliers lead.

At halftime, the Cavaliers led 70-59. The hosts were shooting 50% (7/14) from long range, and they had scored 44 points in the paint. They were rolling on offense. The Pacers had to get some stops if they were going to have a chance to win.

To open the third period, the two teams traded baskets for a few minutes, but four points on one possession from Haliburton helped Indiana cut the lead down to seven after a few minutes of play. Their energy level was better, but they needed to sustain it.

Instead, the Cavaliers answered with a run of their own to get the lead back to 11. Nothing was easy for the Pacers in this one, and every time they seemed to get any momentum, Cleveland responded.

The host's lead was at 10 with 6:31 to go in quarter number three. Even with some halftime adjustments, the Pacers couldn't get enough stops to get back into the game despite an effective-enough offensive attack.

Indiana kept slowly chipping at the lead and were down by six with 2:27 to go in the third quarter, but they weren't able to cut the edge to one score yet. Every time they seemed to have any momentum, they got in their own way.

That happened again across the next few possessions as the Cavs advantage rose back up to 10, but this time it was Indiana who had a strong response. They scored seven consecutive points and trimmed the lead down to three for the first time since the first quarter. They were making progress.

After three frames, the Cavaliers were on top 97-94. The blue and gold did well in the third quarter to finally go on a few runs and look like the better team. Haliburton had 16 points and nine assists at the time while Mitchell had 31 points.

The fourth quarter started with an unfortunate sequence for the Pacers. Forward Obi Toppin came up limping after a semi-transition opportunity, and Indiana couldn't stop the game to get him out. Cleveland's lead was seven by the time a substitution was made. Toppin sprained his left ankle and never returned.

The Cavaliers were able to slightly extend their lead before Mitchell re-entered the game with about nine minutes to go. It was a key stretch for the hosts. They now had some cushion with their best player on the court still. Indiana was running out of wiggle room.

The score was 107-102 in favor of the home team with 7:30 left in the game. It was a tense affair, with every possession becoming more important. The stakes were high, yet the scoring margin was small late.

Barely over one minute later, Haliburton hit an outside shot to cut the lead to two, and Cleveland took a timeout. They needed to regroup with the game still hanging in the balance. The Pacers had been slowly but surely mounting a comeback for several minutes.

The Cavs brought more starters in around that time, and their advantage reached six with four mites to go. They weren't letting the Pacers get any chances to tie the game or take the lead, but the game was still very much undecided. A few big plays were going to determine the winner.

Pascal Siakam tossed in a layup with two minutes to go that cut the Cavs lead to two. The Pacers just never went away in this game despite not having a lead since the first few possessions. They had a chance late, but their defense needed to be excellent.

Indiana got a stop, but they didn't secure the rebound, and the Cavs punished them for it. Darius Garland hit a step-back three with 50 seconds to go to extend the hosts lead to five. It was a devastating shot for the Pacers chances.

The Pacers were down three and defending late when Haliburton fouled Max Strus on a three-point shot, a crushing infraction. Strus hit two foul shots to give the Cavaliers a five-point lead with 24 seconds to go, and Indiana missed a three soon after. The game was nearly locked up.

Cleveland played the free throw game correctly and held on for a 129-120 win. Despite the Pacers comeback efforts, they lost and didn't secure a playoff berth on Friday. They'll try again in two days.

Haliburton finished with 19 points and 12 assists. Siakam added 19 points. Turner contributed 17. Indiana's defense wasn't good enough.

The Pacers played the Hawks in Indianapolis on Sunday with a postseason spot on the line.

• Tyrese Haliburton sets Indiana Pacers single-season franchise assist record on a night the Pacers needed him. CLICK HERE.
• The Pacers needed to be clutch and to win vs Miami Heat to keep playoff hopes alive. They got it done. CLICK HERE.
• T.J. McConnell is reaching a new offensive peak and guiding Indiana Pacers to wins. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers overcome slow start to take down Toronto Raptors on the road. CLICK HERE.
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