Aaron Nesmith poured in a career-best 26 points in 30 minutes off the bench, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner recorded double-doubles and the visiting Indiana Pacers won their second straight game Saturday night, outlasting the Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers 125-113.
Haliburton notched 21 points and a game-high 13 assists, while Turner had 20 points and a team-high 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who had been off for two days since opening with a 143-120 home romp over the Washington Wizards.
With the Cavaliers electing to rest Mitchell due to a sore hamstring on the second night of a back-to-back, Evan Mobley went for 33 points and Caris LeVert 31 in Cleveland’s second loss in its first three games.
In a game that saw the Cavaliers explode for 37 points in the first quarter and 38 in the third, the balanced Pacers proved to be too much, with Bennedict Mathurin (13), Jalen Smith (13) and Buddy Hield (10) also scoring in double figures.
Down 60-49 at the half, the Cavaliers rallied within 91-87 by third quarter’s end, then closed to 93-92 on a Georges Niang 3-pointer with 10:51 to go.
The hosts were still within two at 109-107 when Mobley dunked with 4:08 to play, but Haliburton bombed in three 3-pointers in a 57-second flurry, the third opening up a 10-point cushion with just 2:46 left.
Nesmith wound up 5-for-9 on threes and Haliburton 4-for-7, helping the Pacers outscore the Cavaliers 45-36 from beyond the arc.
Led by Nesmith, the Indiana bench outscored its counterparts 61-11.
Mobley was both the game’s leading scorer and rebounder with 14, while teammate Max Strus likewise notched a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, LeVert found time for a team-high eight assists to complement his prolific scoring game.
Isaac Okoro added 11 points for the Cavaliers, who were outshot 49 percent to 43.3 percent overall.
–Field Level Media