NBA
Indiana Pacers finally put an end to Cavaliers’ 12-game win streak
Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.
All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated6 hours ago on January 13, 2025
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard combined for 47 points to lead the Pacers to their 22nd victory of the 2024-25 campaign and while at it, end the Cavaliers’ 12-game winning streak on Sunday night. Indiana beat the league leaders at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 108-93 on Sunday night.
While Cleveland will get their chance at revenge this Tuesday, as both teams are set to face each other again in Indianapolis, Rick Carlisle’s squad will hope to continue on the winning path, having reached their sixth-consecutive victory last night.
The Pacers were also able to hold the Cavs to a season low in points, while outscoring them 68-40 in the second half. While Myles Turner’s 15 points and 10 rebounds proved to be essential to the win, also was Jarace Walker’s contribution from the bench, adding 8 points and 12 rebounds to the mix.
“There was nothing to lose, this is the best team in the league right now,” Nembhard said during his on-court postgame interview. “We had to play hard, play together, and put some more physicality in the game on the defensive side of the ball, and play off of that.”
This was the first time that Cleveland lost since December 8 against the Miami Heat. “What disappointed me was our first half was phenomenal, defensively, and then the second half, we fell off,” said coach Kenny Atkinson, who has led the team to a 33-5 overall mark and 20-2 at home. “So, we couldn’t sustain our defense. Just disappointed.”
The home side was led by Darius Garland’s 20 points and 7 assists, while co-stars Donovan Mitchell’s 19 points and Evan Mobley’s 16 points and 12 rebounds weren’t enough to complete the comeback.
According to Nembhard, the secret was playing as a team. “We were connected (on defense),” Andrew assured. “We didn’t fool around, even when we made mistakes, we helped out each other, and just made the next play.”
Unfortunately, their victory did come at a cost, as All-Star Tyrese Haliburton missed out on the second half due to left hamstring tightness. With their rematch coming soon, coach Carlisle praised their rivals: “They don’t have any weaknesses. I mean, you can’t find any. All of their guys can score and those guys play defense, too.”
