The Indiana Pacers got a bit of too-late revenge against the LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, winning their preseason matchup 111-102.
The Indiana Pacers won a game of preseason basketball tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In a Game 8 of last season’s first-round matchup that no one asked for, the Pacers came out in droves, building up a large lead by halftime. The team meshed together well, and lots of new faces made an impact on the evening. A late comeback from the Cavaliers was discouraging but didn’t amount to anything, as the Pacers held on to grab their second win of the pre-season.
The Good: The team’s chemistry is coming together quite nicely – the starters still got it. Edmond Sumner is still out to impress this preseason. Victor Oladipo woke up this morning and was Victor Oladipo.
The Bad: The game was essentially put away before the fourth quarter began and some lazy defense (along with some admittedly lucky three-bombs from Cleveland) brought the Cavaliers right back into it. It’s preseason, sure, but it’s never a good sign to see 20-point leads brought to single digits in the second half.
MVP: The sun rises from the east and sets in the west, Indiana potholes multiply like bunnies, and Victor Oladipo is this game’s MVP. You can basically just copy and paste this into most of the post-game grades this year.
LVP: Everyone at home who was forced to watch that Baylor-Kansas replay instead of the first quarter of this game. Fox Sports still shaking off the offseason rust.
X-Factor: Edmond Sumner has made a name for himself this preseason. 14 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in only 18 minutes of action, and he’s consistently getting to the rim at an elite level. Sorry, Aaron Holiday.
The Pacers take on the Bulls this Wednesday for their final preseason action of the season before kicking things off a week later against the Grizzlies.