Cavs’ demise greatly exaggerated
Cleveland trails the series 2-1.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Cleveland Cavaliers had their way with the Indiana Pacers in Game 3. They got healthy, controlled the possession game, and played the best defense they have all series to come away with a 126-104 Game-3 win. Indiana’s series lead is now 2-1.
Maybe this isn’t over yet.
The Cavs threw the first punch. They scored the first 11 points and took a 25-10 lead midway through the opening quarter. Indiana responded as they’ve continually done at the start of the series. They went on a 22-7 run to tie things up after the first.
Then, Cleveland completely took over the game.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson shifted to a few different versions of a 3-2 zone, some of which included Evan Mobley at the very top of the zone. This put the Pacers on their back foot. They had a tough time creating off-ball movement and ended up taking stationary threes.
Even though they’ve controlled the series from beyond the arc in this series, that isn’t how they’ve had to generate their looks in the first two games.
Indiana only mustered 13 second-quarter points. This gave the Cavs the opening they needed to break this game open.
Cleveland continually went downhill in the second quarter. They relentlessly attacked the paint thanks to Mobley and Donovan Mitchell. This led to a 21-point lead at the break.
The Cavs kept them at arm’s length through the third quarter. They took a 97-79 lead into the fourth.
No lead is safe in this series. The Cavaliers have found that out the hard way more than a few times so far. But the Pacers weren’t able to cut the deficit below 11 in the second half.
Indiana went on a 14-7 run at the beginning of the fourth. Not being able to stop these runs is what led to their downfall in Game 2. Here, the Cavs responded with a quick 8-0 run thanks to five points from Mitchell to regain control.
Mitchell having an answer for everything was a common theme in Game 3. Indiana continues to have absolutely no answers for him in the paint. He repeatedly willed his way to the rim just as he has all series. It’s tough to count Cleveland out if and until that ever changes.
This all led to a 43-point performance on 14-29 shooting with nine rebounds and five helpers.
Mobley was impressive in his return. He was the best player on the floor for stretches. This included dominating the glass as he added five big offensive rebounds, which helped the Cavs win the second-chance points battle 31-9.
This is what the Cavs were missing. Mobley finished the night with 18 points on 6-13 shooting, with 13 rebounds and four assists in the victory.
Darius Garland was rusty, but his presence was what the team needed, even though it’s clear his toe isn’t close to 100%. He didn’t have the burst that we’re used to seeing. But his steady presence kept the offense on schedule. Garland had 10 points on 3-11 shooting and three assists.
De’Andre Hunter provided a shot in the arm as another playable wing. He contributed eight points in the win.
Cleveland also benefited from phenomenal games from Max Strus and Jarrett Allen.
Strus is in his element when it’s a chippy series like this. It also helps that he had his three-point shot falling. He ended the evening with 20 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds.
Allen’s rock-solid play has allowed the Cavaliers to control the paint this series. That didn’t change as he supplied 19 points and 12 boards.
Bendict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 points on 6-11 shooting. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and four rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton ended the evening with four pathetic points, five assists, and three turnovers while being a -20. This wasn’t the performance Indiana needed from their best player in a game that could’ve all but sealed their chances to get to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This win doesn’t mean much if the Cavs can’t back it up in Game 4 on Sunday. We’ll see how the Cavs respond to their first win of the second round.