The Cleveland Cavaliers squandered a late fourth-quarter lead as they went cold down the stretch Wednesday and suffered their 22nd straight loss, a 117-112 setback to the visiting Indiana Pacers.
The Cavaliers are one loss shy of tying the single-season NBA record shared by the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Denver Nuggets. They visit Memphis on Friday night.
Cleveland held a 108-105 lead after a bucket by Manny Harris with 3:31 to play. But the Cavs (8-41) managed just four points the rest of the way and lost for the 32nd time in their last 33 contests.
A 3-pointer by Darren Collison gave Indiana the lead for good at 113-110 with 1:07 to play. Christian Eyenga asnwered with a jumper, and the Cavs had a chance to take the lead in the final seconds. But instead of calling timeout to set up a play, Anthony Parker rushed a shot in the lane, allowing the Pacers to escape.
Danny Granger scored 23 points and Darren Collison had 22 and nine assists for the Pacers, who are 2-0 under interim coach Frank Vogel. Those wins have come against bottom-feeders Cleveland and Toronto.
Ramon Sessions had a season-high 25 points and nine assists, Antawn Jamison scored 21 points and Harris had 19 for the Cavs, who took their first lead in nearly 217 minutes late in the third quarter.
Prior to that, the Cavs hadn’t led since late in the first quarter against Boston on Jan. 25.
Indiana | Cleveland | |
Danny Granger 23 | Scoring | Ramon Sessions 25 |
Darren Collison 9 | Assists | Ramon Sessions 9 |
Roy Hibbert 10 | Rebounds | Manny Harris 8 |
Danny Granger 12 | Free Throws Made | Ramon Sessions 13 |
Darren Collison 4 | Steals | Christian Eyenga 2 |
Danny Granger 3 | Blocks | Antawn Jamison 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Indiana | 117 | 47.1 | 9-19 | 26-32 | 26 | 49 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
Cleveland | 112 | 45.3 | 9-18 | 35-44 | 23 | 32 | 7 | 8 | 13 |