Indiana Pacers run riot over Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83; Qualify for the playoffs - NBA Recap
On Friday night at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN, the Indiana Pacers, ran riot over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83. This win for the Pacers helped them in securing a playoff berth for a second time running.
However as the regular season is winding down, Pacers are looking to secure home court advantage for the first time since 2004. If they are successfully able to retain their current standing of third place in the Eastern Conference,
the Pacers would achieve home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
They are currently three games ahead of the trailing Boston Celtics who remain in fourth place after their loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Danny Granger led the scoring for the Pacers with 18 points 9 of which came in the significant third quarter. George Hill scored 15 points and dished out 7 assists in the game. Roy Hibbert had a double-double game with 12 points
and 10 rebounds while David West contributed 10 points as 4 Indiana starters finished the night scoring in double figures.
Tyler Hansbrough and Leandro Barbosa also made significant contributions, coming off the bench to score 16 and 13 points respectively.
Omri Casspi was the leading scorer for the Cavs as he came off the bench to notch up 14 points. Donald Sloan and Antawn Jamison contributed 12 points each. Out of the five starters, these two were the only one scoring in double
figures. Samardo Samuels also added 10 points as a reliever.
The game was very closely contested in the first quarter as the scores remained neck to neck for most parts of it. The only advantage the visitors were able to achieve was of 4 points at 16-12 with 2:57 to go. However the score
got levelled at 16-each with 1:31 remaining.
On the next possession for the Cavs, Samuels grabbed the offensive board and was fouled by Amundson as he went to lay the ball in. He successfully completed the three point play by converting the free throw to give Cavs the lead
19-16. The first quarter ended with the same score line.
The Pacers were struggling to score from the field as the Cavaliers went on 10-2 to start the second quarter. Indiana trailed by as much as 18-31 with 6:51 to go in the half. From that point on though, they decided to put their
slow start to the game behind them, and started to rally their way back into the contest.
For the remaining time of the second quarter, the Pacers scored 23 points while allowing the Cavs to only 12 to make the score line 41-43 at the half.
With the momentum on their side, the Pacers first tied the game and then went ahead to take the lead in the early parts of the third quarter. For about 5 and half minutes in the third period, the Pacers outscored the Cavs 12 -
2 as they took the lead at 53-45.
Indiana continued to dominate the scoring and never really had to look back in the contest. They went on to extend their advantage to 21 points and went into the fourth quarter holding a 19 point advantage.
Indiana`s ample advantage remained in double figures for the rest of the night and was only reduced to 18 at one point in the fourth quarter.
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