CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert — Thaddeus Young and Darren Collison combined to score 51 points, and the Indiana Pacers handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their fourth straight loss with a 124-107 result on Wednesday night.
All five Pacers starters scored in double-figures in the win.
Young finished with 26 points, six rebounds and four steals and Collison had 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds for Indiana (5-3), which won three straight and four in the last five overall.
“That’s what we’re doing, winning games by committee,” Young said. “We’re moving the ball and trusting each other. I love playing with this team.”
Victor Oladipo hit five 3-pointers to end with 23 points and seven assists, while Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who return to action on Friday at the Philadelphia 76ers.
“It’s a big win for this young team,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “We knew Cleveland would come out with a sense of urgency after losing their last three.”
LeBron James paced Cleveland with 33 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block, but his effort wasn’t enough to prevent the Eastern Conference champion from falling again.
The Cavs, who have lost by a combined margin of 58 points in their current losing streak, sit third from bottom in the Eastern Conference Standings.
“A lot of teams are playing well right now,” said James, who tied a season high with eight turnovers. “We’re not. That’s just a simple fact.”
Derrick Rose finished with 19 points, Jeff Green scored 15, while Kevin Love had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers (3-5), who were losing for the fifth time in six games.
“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,” Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “We’ve got to do it ourselves.”
Dwyane Wade played 15 minutes off the bench for the Cavs and scored five points on 2 of 7 shooting with four assists, while forward Tristan Thompson left the game in the second quarter with a strained left calf.
Thompson played 15 minutes and grabbed seven rebounds before leaving and didn’t return.
The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
