CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff took a timeout 58 seconds into the second half.
Prior to that point, the Cavs had shaken off a sluggish start, led by as many as ten points in the second quarter and took a seven-point advantage into halftime.
He knew what was coming.
The Pacers scored two quick baskets to open the frame, and Bickerstaff wanted to head-off his team’s propensity for a third quarter slump.
“(We were) trying to keep them out of transition as best as we possibly could because they play at that pace and that tempo that makes them hard to guard,” Bickerstaff said.
The Cavaliers didn’t immediately unravel, despite only scoring 17 points in the third quarter.
In fact, they responded with a fourth quarter rally, turning a six-point deficit into a tie ballgame with six minutes left. But with a depleted roster on the second night of a back-to-back, Indiana overwhelmed the Wine and Gold over the final sending the Cavs to a 111-102 loss on Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“They laid it on the line tonight. To their credit of their character and who they are,” Bickerstaff said. “They gave us everything that had tonight. We just came up a little short.”
The loss marked the Cavaliers 11th straight defeat, now the longest losing streak of the season.
“To go out there as shorthanded as we were, it would’ve been easy to take a night off after a back-to-back. They figured out a way to find it,” Bickerstaff said.
“Look at the amount of minutes certain guys had to play and carry that load for us. Isaac (Okoro) is over 42 (minutes). Dean Wade, Bull. For them to go out there and compete like that, that says a lot about them.
Those three Cavaliers in particular, combined for 66 of the Cavs 102 points against Indiana.
Wade and Isaac Okoro posted the first double-doubles of their young careers, scoring 19 and 22 points, respectively. Wade led the way for the Cavaliers on the glass with 12 rebounds while Okoro pulled down 10.
“My main focus tonight was just to try and help out on the boards because JA (Jarrett Allen) had his hands full with (Damontis) Sabonis,” Wade said. “It gave me a lot of opportunities to kind of steal a few.”
Wade’s been a well-respected offensive contributor who can knock down outside shots on the offensive end of things.
“It was really impressive, especially to see Dean shoot 13 shots,” Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton said. “I tried to tell him if you make one, shoot some more. Let it go and let it fly.”
Meanwhile, Okoro’s presence on the defensive end of the floor was a primary factor the Cavaliers made him the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. But his offensive game has started to come along in recent weeks to match his defensive output.
“The defensive rebounding piece helps one obviously you finish possessions,” Bickerstaff said. “But for a guy like Isaac, when he defensive rebounds now he can push the ball in transition, which is where he excels.”
Okoro certainly excelled at getting looks in transition, but he also knocked down a trio of three-pointers Monday night.
“Seeing Isaac be aggressive in knowing that the three ball is good, just continue to have confidence and if they close out continue to drive,” Sexton “His confidence has continued to build, and we all know once you get that confidence and get that emotional upbeat everything starts to get better and everything starts to flow.”
But Indiana has averaged more than 130 points per-game in the month of May and plays with the fifth-highest pace in the NBA, generating 104 possessions per 48 minutes.
“You want to try your best to slow it down, but that’s easier said than done,” Bickerstaff said. “Even though you’re trying to slow the game down, you have to sprint back.”
There are currently nine players on the Cavaliers injury report. Kevin Love was a late scratch Monday, shortening an already depleted roster.
“It’s still difficult but I thought our guys did a good job of trying to force them into the half court and limit their possessions,” the coach continued.
Tied at 91 apiece with 6:25 to play, the Pacers tempo finally caught up with the Wine and Gold, as Indiana went on a 20-11 run to close the game out.
“We knew we had limited bodies tonight in the Pacers knew that too so we came out and wanted to fight and compete as hard as we can every possession. We made mistakes but we fought hard all night we came up a little short, but we fought to the end.”