INDIANAPOLIS — The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a name for themselves as a fourth quarter team this season. On Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers, that was both a good and bad thing in a 120-116 win inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Cavs rallied from down by nine points at the beginning of the fourth quarter to win thanks to a stellar quarter from Darius Garland, and timely plays from Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Craig Porter Jr. down the stretch.
Cleveland opened up the fourth quarter on a 14-4 run that gave the Cavs their first lead in the second half. As it almost always does, that run started with defense. That remained true when the Cavs held the Pacers scoreless for nearly four minutes later on in the quarter, allowing them to turn what was a 9-point deficit into a 7-point lead.
I think we had them at nine points for the fourth quarter for a long time,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game. “But our defense in the fourth quarter was really good overall.”
