National Basketball Association
Cleveland 92, Indiana 91
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #57 Mousa Dagher, #45 Brian Forte
Attendance: 15630

Larry Nance Jr. tipped in a missed shot by Rodney Hood at the buzzer, and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers 92-91 on Tuesday night.

Indiana had a chance to ice the game, but Victor Oladipo missed three straight free throws to give Cleveland the opportunity to win only its eighth game of the season.

The Pacers had their seven-game win streak snapped, while the Cavaliers ended a two-game skid.

The game was tied 10 times and there were 17 lead changes.

Nance, starting in place of the injured Tristan Thompson, finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Hood scored 17, and Alec Burks came off the bench to add 14 points for Cleveland.

Domantas Sabonis scored 17 points to lead six Indiana players in double figures. Oladipo struggled to score 12 points on 4-of-15 from the field, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and the three costly misses from the free-throw line.

With the score tied 79-all, Oladipo connected on a 3-pointer after turning the ball over on the previous possession to put Indiana up, 82-79. The Pacers stretched the lead to 88-82 with 4:10 left and seemed in control.

After Cleveland crept to within two at 90-88 on a Hood short jumper, Oladipo made one of two free throws with 43.9 seconds left

The Cavaliers had a chance to tie the game at 91-all, but Hood's 3-point attempt was long. Oladipo's floater was off, and Burks' layup made the score 91-90 with 12 seconds left.

Hood fouled Oladipo with 9.5 ticks left. Oladipo missed both free throws to set up Nance's game-winner.

Cleveland led 45-44 at halftime and is now 7-2 when leading at intermission.

Sabonis led the Pacers with nine first-half points. Thaddeus Young added seven points and seven boards.

Burks and Cedi Osman each had nine for Cleveland.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Indiana
Rodney Hood 17 Scoring Domantas Sabonis 17
Larry Nance Jr. 6 Assists Victor Oladipo 5
Larry Nance Jr. 16 Rebounds Myles Turner 10
Rodney Hood 6 Free Throws Made Bojan Bogdanovic 4
Larry Nance Jr. 3 Steals Domantas Sabonis 2
Alec Burks 2 Blocks Myles Turner 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 92 41.8 6-31 10-13 19 51 5 7 12
Indiana 91 39.8 4-22 13-21 21 52 9 7 9
Upcoming Games
  • Indiana will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Pacers have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .727 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .143 after a win and .292 after a loss.