It looked like the Pacers came out with a playoff mentality after getting rolled by 51 on Wednesday and the Cavs were just going through the motions, except for Mitchell, who had 20 in the first half. Mitchell had an incredible game with 38 points and 9 assists, but he missed a crucial jumper late in the 4th.
This game was lost on 3's - the Pacers were 15-for-31 while the Cavs were an embarassing 8-for-28. That's a 21-point difference in a 5-point loss. Haliburton made his 3-pointer with 17 seconds to go (his foot was on the line so he only got two) and then LeVert missed an open one. Story of the game.
The two technicals also hurt. If not for them the Cavs would have been down one point instead of three on their final possession and that would have changed everything since they were also in the bonus.
Great to see Garland and Allen back but neither is 100%. Mobley had a very nice game with 14/10/5, 3 steals, 4 blocks, and a number of contested shots that missed. He was a +11 meaning the Cavs were -16 in the 12 minutes he was down.
Garland turned it over four times, missed both his 3's, and was abused on defense. Whoever he was guarding just took it into the paint and shot a 10-footer over him. Nothing he could do about it.
Dean Wade was a -9 in three minutes and never got back in the game. I think his time is running out. Speaking of which, Niang is now shooting 24.3% overall and 20.8% on 3's. It's not like he's playing great defense or doing anything really.
Okoro probably had the worst game. The Cavs were -19 in his 22 minutes. He committed 4 fouls and scored 5 points. Strus was 1-for-6 on 3's and is now shooting 31% for the year from deep.
I think eventually our best lineup will be Garland, Mitchell, LeVert, Mobley, and Allen.
His goofy attitude just rubs me the wrong way and doing shit like this just comes off as a guy who doesn't really care all that much about winning and losing.
Hey, Tristan Thompson shot left-handed free throws for about five years. Give Allen a break.
