Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | Game ID: 22500510
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 28 32 33 23 116CLE 22 31 31 36 120
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Cavaliers rally late for 120-116 win while handing the Pacers a franchise-record 13th straight loss
INDIANAPOLIS -- — Darius Garland scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, fueling a late 13-point run that sent the Cleveland Cavaliers past the struggling Indiana Pacers 120-116 on Tuesday for their fourth win in five games.
Indiana, the defending Eastern Conference champs, lost its 13th straight to set a franchise record in its NBA era. The Pacers are now a league-worst 6-31 and are one loss away from matching the Washington Wizards ' 14-game skid for the league's longest skid this season.
The Cavs weren't even at full strength in this one.
Coach Kenny Atkinson gave All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell a day off just hours after team officials announced Max Strus was expected to miss at least another month because of a left foot injury. Atkinson said that the updated timeline was not because Strus had suffered a setback. Cleveland also lost forward Dean Wade in the first half with a bruised left knee.
And yet, Cleveland managed to erase the nine-point deficit they faced entering the fourth quarter. Evan Mobley had 20 points while Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each scored 19. Merrill went 6 of 10 on 3-pointers.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points and Jay Huff tied his season high with 20 points, going 7 of 10 from the field wand 4 of 7 on 3s. Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 11 assists. Indiana played without center Isaiah Jackson , swingman Bennedict Mathurin , forward Obi Toppin and All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton because of injuries.
Indiana still had a chance to force overtime in the waning seconds, but couldn't tie the score as the game turned into a free-throw contest.
The loss also delayed coach Rick Carlisle's 1,000th win for yet two more days.
IND KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BS B. Sheppard
ET E. Thompson
JF J. Furphy
JH J. Huff
JW J. Walker
MP M. Potter
PS P. Siakam
TM T. McConnell
CLE/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur