Pacers stop Cavaliers’ win streak at 13
Victor Oladipo had 33 points and eight rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat visiting Cleveland 106-102 on Friday night to end the Cavaliers’ winning streak at 13 games.
Indiana has won three straight, nine of 12 and is the first team to beat the Cavaliers twice this season.
LeBron James had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Cleveland, and Kevin Love added 20 points. The Cavs lost for the first time since Nov. 9 at Houston. They had won seven straight on the road.
The teams went toe to toe all night, trading jabs, leads and momentum swings. But Indiana’s closing flurry finally stopped Cleveland.
The Pacers used an 11-2 run late in the third quarter to retake the lead and Cleveland never regained the upper hand. It sure wasn’t easy, though.
Cleveland trailed 9386 with 9:43 to play and fought fiercely to extend the streak. The Cavs got as close as 96-95 on J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:48 left.
But Bojan Bogdanovic answered with a 3, Oladipo made one of two free throws and hit down another 3 to extend the lead it 103-97 with 1:01 left.
The Cavs again made it a one-possession on Smith’s 3 with 10 seconds to go.
This time, Corey Joseph made two free throws, Love missed a 3, and Myles Turner grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
The Cavaliers have scored 100 or more points in 19 straight games, the third-longest streak in franchise history.
• Derrick Rose is ready to start playing basketball in Cleveland again once he’s healthy. He acknowledged Friday he has a bone spur in his left ankle that contributed to his decision to leave the team Nov. 22. In his first public comments since ending an almost two-week hiatus, Rose told reporters that he had apologized to his teammates, was content with the Cavaliers and insisted he couldn’t wait to get back on the court.
“I was just figuring things out, thinking about this and that,” Rose said before the Cavs’ morning shootaround in Indianapolis.
“But I’m here for my team. I’m here to win. And that’s one of the reasons why I came back.” SPURS 105, CELTICS 102 >> Manu Ginobili hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining, and San Antonio overcame Kyrie Irving’s 36-point effort to beat Boston. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio. Tony Parker added 11 for the Spurs, who are undefeated with him in the lineup through six games. BUCKS 109, MAVERICKS 102 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 12 of his 31 points in the final 4:38, and Milwaukee erased an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter to pick up its fifth win in six games. NUGGETS 103, MAGIC 89 >> Kenneth Faried scored 20 points, and Denver won despite playing without Nikola Jokic (left ankle) or Paul Millsaps (left wrist). Magic forward Aaron Gordon left with a possible concussion shortly after colliding with Denver’s Gary Harris midway through the third quarter. He has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Hawks. KINGS 116, PELICANS 109 >> Zach Randolph scored a season-high 35 points to lead Sacramento. DeMarcus Cousins, the main piece in a trade between the teams in February, led New Orleans with 38 points and 11 rebounds. NOEL HAS THUMB SURGERY >> Dallas Mavericks center Nerlens underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb, and there is no timetable for his return. TRAIL BLAZERS’ NURKIC TO MISS GAME >> Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Houston Rockets with an ankle injury.