Indiana Pacers pull away in overtime to beat Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91: NBA Recap
In the most exciting fixture on Friday night, the Indiana Pacers came out on top in an overtime thriller against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 98 – 91.
Indiana are a rising force in the NBA and gave another account of their tenacity with the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The win pleased centre Roy Hibbert who believed it was the sign of more good things to come.
"These are the types of games that we have to win. We probably would have lost this one last year. But I think the coaching staff and everybody is teaching us how to win and to win when we get into certain situations."
Indiana forward Danny Granger led all scorers on the night with 22 points. He formed a nice frontcourt partnership with newly recruited power forward David West, who registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Roy
Hibbert was an anchor with his 17 points and 13 rebounds while George Hill came off the bench to score 15. Tyler Hansbrough continued to impress and finished the game with 11 points and 12 boards in a little over 25 minutes while Darren Collison also chipped
in with 11.
The Cavaliers relied on rookie sensation Kyrie Irving. The point guard, who was the number 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, didn’t disappoint on the occasion with a 20 point performance that also included 4 assists and 5 rebounds.
He however missed a game winning layup with just seconds left in the regular time. Cavs centre Anderson Varejao was also impressive, recording a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Three other Cleveland players, Antawn Jamison (12), Alonzo Gee (10)
and Anthony Parker (12) made it into double figures.
Cleveland started off better and were up by 8 at one point in the first quarter. The game though, especially in the first half, was a very tightly contested affair. The first quarter ended with the Cavs up by 2 points and after
another closely fought quarter, the first half ended on the same note, the score line reading 47 – 45 to the Cavs.
After the interval Indiana came out firing. The team had a spring in their step and wrestled the momentum with some stifling defence and sound execution on the other end. A 12 – 2 run at the start of the half put them ahead and
that was where they were when the third period ended at 70 – 61.
The Pacers hauled themselves to a double-digit advantage early in the 4th quarter but they couldn’t maintain the position for long. The Cavs looked determined to make a game of it and did so by clawing back the lead
bit by bit throughout the period. Point guard Irving finally levelled the scores with a layup to 80 – 80 with just over two minutes remaining and swung the momentum in his side’s favour.
His coach Bryon Scott spoke in glowing terms of his play after the game and expressed confidence that Cleveland had a star in their hands.
"I love the fact he wants the ball and that's a great sign. I wanted him to have the ball in his hands so he could create for his teammates or have a shot for himself. He did the right thing. He got all the way to the basket."
The night though belonged to the Pacers. David West made the 2 point shot taking the game into overtime and from there on the Cavs were never in it as the Pacers drove on, cheered along by a vocal crowd, closing out the game comfortably
at 98 – 91.
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