CLEVELAND, Ohio – It took the Cleveland Cavaliers three quarters to get the shots to fall Sunday night against the Indiana Pacers.
But once they started to fall, it was as if Cleveland, and specifically Cedi Osman and Kevin Love, couldn’t fail.
After dropping as many as 20 points earlier in this game, the Cavs mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring the Pacers 98-85 after going 19-0 early in the final 12 minutes. It’s the biggest comeback win for the Cavs this season.
“At one point we knew we were going to come back, because I think we were finding the shots, we just couldn’t knock them down,” Osman said. “Especially myself. I think I shot 0 for 7 in the first half. And in fact that’s where the team came from, they trusted me, they gave me the ball and I knocked them down”.
Osman made 7 of 8 shots, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter and 22 in the game, after making only one of his eight shot attempts in the first three quarters. Love was right there with him, scoring nine points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting from 3 and dishing out three assists. He finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Cavs (33-21) entered the fourth quarter down seven, 68-61. They had trailed all game to that point, thanks in large part to some abysmal shooting in the first half (the Cavs were just 12-for-47 at 25.5%).
But then Osman and Love caught fire late, scoring all 19 points in the fourth-quarter streak (Osman had 13 and Love had six). The two made five 3-pointers during the run, and even connected for the last deep pass of the career when Love threw a pass without looking behind Osman, who nailed the shot from the left corner.
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse got jittery thanks to the explosion of points, and when the dust settled, the Cavs had an 80-68 lead with 8:50 left in the game.
“The fans, when we have a run like that, it’s like contagious, infectious, whatever you want to call it,” Love said after the game. “We feed off of that a lot and it’s so much fun at times like that. It can be anyone. Cedi has had multiple times like this throughout the season, myself included, just our team doing massive runs. But the way we came back tonight after not playing a great first half. That was fun.”
The Cavs went up to 17 points in the fourth. Overall, Osman and Love combined to score Cleveland’s first 25 points in the fourth and the Cavs outscored the Pacers 37-17 in the final 12 minutes.
They also scored in double figures for Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen (who had a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds), Rajon Rondo (who also had a double-double of 15 points and 12 assists) and Dean Wade (10). .
The Cavs’ return came on the heels of some news before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Just an hour before kickoff, sources told cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor that the Cavs have agreed to acquire Pacers forward Caris LeVert in exchange for Ricky Rubio, the 2022 NFL-protected first-round pick. lottery from Cleveland, and a couple of second-round players: the Houston Rockets’ 2022 second through the Cavaliers and a 2027 second through the Utah Jazz.
LeVert grew up to become a top target for the Cavs because of his playing and scoring skills — he’s averaging 18.7 points and 4.4 assists this season.
The start of Sunday’s game underscored how much the Cavs need another playmaker like LeVert in the stretch of the season without Collin Sexton and Rubio, who both suffered season-ending injuries this season.
The Cavs missed 17 of their first 20 shots of the game and trailed 18 (23-5) in the first quarter. Cleveland shot just 4-for-23 from the field over the first 12 minutes, including going 0-for-5 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 stick with it,” coach JB Bickerstaff said. “We knew we were better than that. The shots we were getting, we were missing layups and open 3s. We knew if we stayed with it, eventually our skill set would take over and we’d make those shots.”
A 12-0 offensive streak and improved defense helped propel the Cavs into the second quarter as they forced five turnovers that led to 10 points.
However, the Pacers ended the half on an 11-5 run and entered the locker room with a 47-36 lead. After the poor shot in the first quarter, the Cavs made only 12 of 47 total shot attempts in the first half (25.5%).
The Cavs took their shooting to a more respectable level in the third quarter, closing within five points several times over the 12 minutes and going 9-for-19 as a team. A quick 6-0 run thanks to free throws by Love and two quick baskets by Lamar Stevens brought the Cavs within four, 65-61, the closest the game had come since early in the first quarter. However, a three at the buzzer by Indiana’s Chris Duarte closed out the fourth giving the Pacers (19-36) a 68-61 lead, setting up Cleveland’s fourth-quarter comeback.
While Sunday night may not have been the prettiest outing at times, once again the Cavs showed they know how to win ugly.
Perhaps most importantly, they know how to win ugly together.
“What I’m most proud of is how they do it together, how much fun they have 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’m serious, every day I enjoy going to work with these guys. We don’t have a guy walking into the building with a bad attitude and bringing the group down. And that’s all you can ask for.”
Allen’s double-doubles continue
Allen had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds late in the first quarter to keep up his impressive streak: It was his third straight half posting 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 feat in the style of LeBron James
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 it in Philadelphia on April 6, 2018 (19 points in the third quarter).
Until next time
The Cavs continue their brief stay at home on Wednesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm EDT.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism