Pacers at Cavaliers
There was a time not long ago when the Indiana Pacers were the hard-charging team in the Eastern Conference, and some even entertained thoughts that they would challenge the Miami Heat for the top spot. While the Heat have become unbeatable, the Pacers have begun to struggle and they enter Monday's visit to Cleveland as part of a logjam of teams fighting for playoff positioning in the East standings.
Saturday's 98-91 loss at Philadelphia was the fourth in six games for Indiana, which is in second place in the East but being pursued closely by five teams. The Pacers have won 10 of the last 11 games against the Cavaliers, who are coming off an 0-2 trip to Texas. A 119-113 loss at San Antonio on Saturday was Cleveland's sixth in its last eight games. Wayne Ellington and Marreese Speights combined for 40 points off the bench in the losing cause.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE PACERS (40-26): The vaunted Indiana defense, which entered Sunday ranked second in fewest points allowed per game (90), has been a bit more pedestrian of late. Against the 76ers, the Pacers gave up more than that number for the fourth straight game. "We're hitting that point in the season. It's a grind," coach Frank Vogel said Saturday. "Guys have played all season a heck of a lot more minutes than they've ever played before. It seems we're a step slow in a lot of areas. We've got to grind through it." That grind is taking Indiana through a stretch in which it plays eight of 12 on the road, with home games against Oklahoma City and two of the teams chasing it in the East.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (22-44): While Cleveland is playing out the string in its third straight losing season, Coach Byron Scott has to be pleased with the fight his club has shown since losing All-Star guard Kyrie Irving to a sprained shoulder. The Cavs won their first game without Irving, a 95-90 victory over Washington, and did not go quietly against either Dallas and San Antonio on the road. In fact, they had fourth-quarter leads in both games. "I think for us, we played this game really well," Scott said after the loss to the Spurs, during which Cleveland shot 50.6 percent and committed just 11 turnovers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers swingman Danny Granger (knee), who has missed six straight games, may resume basketball activities soon, pending the result of a re-evaluation.
2. Indiana C Roy Hibbert took a career-high 26 shots against Philadelphia, making just nine. He is 12-for-38 (31.6 percent) over his last two games.
3. Cavaliers PG Shaun Livingston has filled in well in Irving's absence. While starting all three games Livingston has averaged 13.7 points on 57.6 percent shooting and 5.7 assists.
PREDICTION: Pacers 101, Cavaliers 98