3 studs in Cavs tremendous comeback win over Pacers

The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t get a jump shot, layup, or free throw to drop in the early part of their game against the Indiana Pacers Sunday evening as they went down by as many as 20 points. But they started playing better defense in the second and third quarters, and then they put on a show in the fourth quarter, as they rattled off a 19-0 run and ran away from the Pacers 98-85 in another classic game for the most exciting team in the NBA.

I was chatting with a friend about how dull and unengaged the players looked in a nationally televised game this past weekend between the players from the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. The objection by my friend suggested that the players in the NBA don’t play defense. That may be true with some teams, but not the Cavs.

I said to my friend they should start watching the Cavs play because they play together every night as a basketball team should. It’s that difference that is why the Cavaliers are closing in on leading the Eastern Conference standings. They stand at 33-21 on the season.

The Cavs weren’t however playing very well to start this game. They were getting good looks at the basket but were just missing. The Pacers opened up a lead at 23-5 in that first quarter. Early in the second quarter, the Cavaliers went down 34-14 and that’s when the Wine and Gold started chipping away at the lead and playing better defense. They went on a 17-2 run in that quarter and closed to within five points at 36-31. The Pacers regrouped a bit and were up 47-36 at halftime.

When the second half began Cleveland again closed the gap to 47-42 and the two teams played pretty even. It was 68-61 going into the fourth quarter and that’s when the Cavaliers began the fireworks show, probably one of the most dominating performances by the Cavs defense and offense on the season, as they ran out on a 19-0 spurt that took them to the lead at 80-68 in the blink of an eye. To be exact it took just over three minutes to completely alter the outcome of the game.

There were numerous great moments and players having tremendous games to turn the tide on what looked at first like a loss on the night. Let’s take a look at a few of those outstanding performances.