Who's Playing
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers
Current Records: Cleveland 42-25, Indiana 38-30
How To Watch
- When: Monday, March 18, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- Indianapolis, Indiana
- TV: Bally Sports Midwest - Indiana
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $10.00
What to Know
The Indiana Pacers will be playing at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Cavaliers took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on the Pacers, who come in off a win.
The Pacers' and the Nets' match on Saturday was close at halftime, but the Pacers turned on the heat in the second half with 62 points. Indiana blew past the Nets 121-100.
Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam were among the main playmakers for the Pacers as the former scored 16 points along with two steals and two blocks and the latter dropped a double-double on 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored the Cavaliers last Saturday, but the final result did not. The game between them and Houston wasn't a total blowout, but with Cleveland falling 117-103 on the road it was darn close to turning into one. The Cavaliers were down 98-73 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Despite the loss, the Cavaliers got a solid performance out of Caris LeVert, who scored 21 points along with seven assists and three steals.
Indiana has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 38-30 record this season. As for Cleveland, they have been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 42-25 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Pacers haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 12.6 turnovers per game. However, it's not like the Cavaliers struggle in that department as they've been averaging only 12.6 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Pacers didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against the Cavaliers when the teams last played back in November of 2023, but they still walked away with a 121-116 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, who shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a double-double on 38 points and nine assists. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Pacers still be able to contain Mitchell? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out.
Odds
Indiana is a solid 7-point favorite against Cleveland, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Pacers as a 8-point favorite.
The over/under is 224.5 points.
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Series History
Cleveland has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Indiana.
- Nov 03, 2023 - Indiana 121 vs. Cleveland 116
- Oct 28, 2023 - Indiana 125 vs. Cleveland 113
- Apr 02, 2023 - Cleveland 115 vs. Indiana 105
- Feb 05, 2023 - Cleveland 122 vs. Indiana 103
- Dec 29, 2022 - Indiana 135 vs. Cleveland 126
- Dec 16, 2022 - Cleveland 118 vs. Indiana 112
- Mar 08, 2022 - Cleveland 127 vs. Indiana 124
- Feb 11, 2022 - Cleveland 120 vs. Indiana 113
- Feb 06, 2022 - Cleveland 98 vs. Indiana 85
- Jan 02, 2022 - Cleveland 108 vs. Indiana 104