Cavs drop fourth straight with loss to Pacers
CLEVELAND — There’s not much more for the Cleveland Cavaliers to talk about.
A day after a clearthe-air team meeting, LeBron James and his teammates didn’t get any better.
Thaddeus Young scored 26 points, Darren Collison had 25 and the Indiana Pacers sent Cleveland to its fourth straight loss, 124-107 on Wednesday night.
James had 33 points and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough to keep Cleveland from losing for the fifth time in six games and falling to 3-5.
James was upbeat following Sunday’s 19-point loss to New York and pointed out it was still October. He was in a far less positive mood Wednesday, saying three times, “It’s a new month.”
The Cavaliers held a lengthy meeting before Tuesday’s practice to discuss their struggles, but the defending Eastern Conference champions have lost by a combined margin of 58 points in their losing streak.
“A lot of teams are playing well right now,” James said. “We’re not. That’s just a simple fact.”
The Cavaliers still have issues to work out, especially on the defensive end. Cleveland led 69-68 in the third quarter, but Indiana hit four straight 3-pointers and built an eight-point lead.
Indiana was 16 of 26 from 3-point range. Cleveland had allowed the second most 3-pointers in the league going into the game.
Victor Oladipo scored 23 points for the Pacers. Bojan Bogdanovic added 17, and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Cleveland has battled injuries since training camp and was hit with another when forward Tristan Thompson left in the second quarter with a strained left calf. He exited the arena on crutches.
The Cavaliers haven’t looked like the team that has been in three straight NBA Finals since winning their first two games.
“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “We’ve got to do it ourselves.”
Indiana showed little effect from playing the second end of a back-toback. The Pacers rolled past Sacramento 101-83 on Tuesday and led for most of the first half.
“It’s a big win for this young team,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “We knew Cleveland would come out with a sense of urgency after losing their last three.” Kemba Walker had 26 points, rookie Malik Monk had a huge fourth quarter and Charlotte put the clamps on the NBA’s leading scorer to beat Milwaukee in Charlotte, North Carolina. Giannis Antetokounmpo came in averaging 33.7 points per game, but struggled with foul trouble and finished with a seasonlow 14 points along with 13 rebounds.
Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points in three quarters, and Boston coasted past Sacramento at home for their sixth straight victory. Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Zach Randolph 16 for the Kings.
Ben Simmons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Joel Embiid had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a win Atlanta at home. Dennis Schroder scored 25 points Hawks.
T.J. Warren scored 28 of his career-high 40 points in the second half and Phoenix Suns overcame a 22-point deficit to Washington on the road.
Goran Dragic scored 20 points, Tyler Johnson added 19 and Miami beat Chicago at home to snap a three-game slide. Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points and Robin Lopez added 22 for the Bulls. James Harden had 31 points and nine assists, and Houston beat New York on the road. Harden made six 3-pointers and the Rockets hit 19 to bounce back after two straight losses.
The San Antonio Spurs have recalled Tony Parker from their G-League affiliate. Parker is working his way back from a ruptured left quadriceps tendon that he suffered during last spring’s Western Conference semifinals.