Pacers grind out win over short-handed Warriors, set up big test against Cavaliers

The Pacers secured their fifth straight win leaving them in good shape for consecutive games against the top team in the league.

The Pacers avoided a trap they have fallen prey to in the past, beating a very short-handed Warriors team, 108-96 on Friday.

The Warriors were missing their top three scorers, including Steph Curry, plus Draymond Green. The Pacers starting unit took full advantage, with leaders Pascal Siakam (25 points, 9 rebounds) and Tyrese Haliburton (25 points, 10 assists) handling their business like pros to deliver a win, even if the game was far from aesthetically pleasing. Bennedict Mathurin also chipped in 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pacers won every quarter, although it didn’t seem like it at times. They also gave up the requisite random opponent career high game with Pat Spencer coming off the bench to score a career high, 17 points for the Warriors.

Siakam admitted the challenge of playing these short-handed games after the win, saying the topic of taking it to the Warriors regardless of who was on the court was discussed all day in the building, but human nature is hard to overcome. There also is a deep pool of skilled players on every bench in the NBA, so if given air space, as Spencer was at times, they can rise up and get rolling.

Fortunately, the Pacers were able to maintain a multi-possession lead for much of the final three quarters, leading to their fifth consecutive double-digit win for the first time since 2013.

So, now the Pacers face a challenge at the other end of the NBA difficulty scale with a home-and-home series against the 33-4 (!!!) Cavaliers, starting in Cleveland on Sunday evening. The Cavs are riding a 12-game winning streak which is not their longest so far because they opened the season with a 15-0 start.

The Cavs are dialed in with strong guard play from Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell along with two dynamic, long bigs in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. That combo is delivering the top offense in the league at almost 122 points per 100 possessions while playing at a similar pace to the Pacers.

The situation sets up for another challenge the Pacers always seem to struggle with after a strong stretch of play. There has been little notice of the Pacers current stretch of strong play outside of Indy and now they have two high-profile matchups that will draw plenty of attention should they win, particularly the home game on Tuesday which will be shown nationally on TNT.

For starters, the Pacers need to avoid getting run off the floor as they did in Boston. That loss was one of just three in the Pacers last 14 games but sticks out because of the opponent. Fortunately, the Pacers were able to quickly avenge that brutal performance by beating the C’s two days later.

This Cavs team will put the ultimate test to the Pacers improved defensive play and force the offense to continue finding efficient ways to attack. But if the Pacers want to blow up the narrative that they are a solid regular season game but not a true contender, they have to rise up to the challenge in both of these games and, win or lose, show they belong (and at least cover that +9 spread, ha).

Pacers vs. Cavaliers

Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH

When: Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, 6:00 p.m. ET

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

Odds: Pacers +9

Projected Starters

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner

Cavaliers: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Injuries

Pacers: Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out

Cavaliers: Ty Jerome (illness) - doubtful