CLEVELAND, Ohio — It took three quarters for the Cleveland Cavaliers to get any shots to fall on Sunday evening against the Indiana Pacers.
But once they started falling it was like Cleveland — and specifically Cedi Osman and Kevin Love — couldn’t miss.
After trailing by as many as 20 earlier in this game, the Cavs mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, topping the Pacers 98-85 after a 19-0 run to start the final 12 minutes. It is the largest comeback victory for the Cavs this season.
“At one point we knew that we were gonna come back, because I think we were finding the shots, just we could not knock them down,” Osman said. “Especially myself. I think I was 0-for-7 that first half. And that’s actually where the team came up, they trusted me, they gave me the ball and I knocked them down.”
Osman made seven of eight shots, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter and 22 in the game. That was after making just one of his eight shot attempts over the first three quarters.
Love was right there with him, scoring nine fourth-quarter points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range and dishing out three assists. He ended with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Cavs (33-21) entered the fourth quarter down seven, 68-61. They had trailed for the entirety of the game up until that point, thanks in large part to some abysmal first-half shooting (the Cavs made just 12 of 47 attempts for 25.5%).
But then Osman and Love caught fire late, scoring all 19 points in the fourth-quarter run (Osman had 13 and Love had six). The two hit five 3-pointers during the run, and even linked up for the final deep ball of the run as Love threw a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Osman, who nailed the shot from left corner.
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was sent in a tizzy thanks to the scoring outburst, and when the dust settled the Cavs had an 80-68 advantage with 8:50 remaining in the game.
“The fans, when we get on a run like that, it’s just like contagious, infectious, whatever you want to call it,” Love said after the game. “We feed off that so much and it’s so fun in moments like that. It can be anybody. Cedi’s had a number of times like that throughout the season, myself included, just our team going on massive runs. But the way that we came back tonight after not playing a great first half. That was a lot of fun.”
The Cavs went up by as many as 17 in the quarter. In total, Osman and Love combined to score Cleveland’s first 25 points in the fourth, and the Cavs outscored the Pacers 37-17 over the last 12 minutes.
Also scoring in double figures for Cleveland were Jarrett Allen (who had a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double), Rajon Rondo (who also had a double-double of 15 points and 12 assists), and Dean Wade (10).
The Cavs’ comeback came on the heels of making some news ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
Just an hour before tipoff, sources told cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor that the Cavs agreed to acquire Pacers swingman Caris LeVert in exchange for Ricky Rubio, Cleveland’s lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, and a pair of second-rounders — the Houston Rockets’ 2022 second that the Cavaliers owned and a 2027 second via the Utah Jazz.
LeVert grew to be a primary trade target for the Cavs due to his playmaking and scoring abilities — he’s averaging 18.7 points and 4.4 assists this season.
The start of Sunday’s game underscored how badly the Cavs need another playmaker like LeVert down the stretch of the season without Collin Sexton and Rubio, who both suffered season-ending injuries.
The Cavs missed 17 of their first 20 shots of the game, and got down by as many as 18 (23-5) in the first quarter. Cleveland was just 4-of-23 shooting from the field over the first 12 minutes, including an 0-of-5 mark from deep. The Cavs also made just four of eight free throws, and their five turnovers cost them nine points as the Pacers built a 27-12 lead.
“We just stayed with it,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We knew we were better than that. The shots we were getting, we were missing layups and wide-open 3s. We knew if we just stayed with it eventually our skill set would take over and we’d make those shots.”
A 12-0 offensive run and better defense helped propel the Cavs in the second quarter as they forced five turnovers that led to to 10 points.
The Pacers ended the half going on an 11-5 run however, and they went in the locker room with a 47-36 advantage.
The Cavs got their shooting to a more respectable level in the third quarter, pulling to within five points multiple times throughout the 12 minutes, and making 9 of 19 shots as a team. A quick 6-0 run thanks to Love free throws and two quick buckets from Lamar Stevens got the Cavs to within four, 65-61, the closest the game had been since early in the first quarter. A buzzer-beater three by Indiana’s Chris Duarte, however, closed out the quarter giving the Pacers (19-36) a 68-61 lead, setting up Cleveland’s fourth quarter comeback.
While Sunday night may have not been the prettiest outing at times, once again the Cavs proved they know how to win ugly.
Maybe more importantly, they know how to win ugly together.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is how they do it together, the fun they’re having together and how hard they play together and support each other,” Bickerstaff said. “Different guys on different nights do different things to help us win. I genuinely mean it, every single day I enjoy going to work with these guys. We don’t have one guy who comes in the building with a bad attitude and brings the group down. And that’s all you can ask for.”
Allen double-doubles continue
Allen had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds at the end of the first quarter to keep up his impressive streak — it was his third straight half recording a double-double.
In the first half against Charlotte on Friday, Allen had 15 points and 11 rebounds. He followed that up with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the second half against the Hornets.
A LeBron James-esque feat
Osman’s 18 points in the fourth quarter made him the first Cavalier to score 18 or more points in a single quarter since LeBron James did so at Philadelphia on April 6, 2018 (19 points in third quarter).
Up next
The Cavs continue their brief homestand on Wednesday as they host the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. EST.
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