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CLEVELAND — It wasn’t pretty, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did enough to escape with a 117-108 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Thomas Bryant said something in the locker room before Sunday’s game that presumably got the team fired up. Although neither he, James Harden, nor Donovan Mitchell would reveal what that was.
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“I’m not saying that.”
Whatever it was, it worked, at least for Bryant.
Bryant didn’t disappoint in his first start with the Cavs. He provided infectious energy on a night the team desperately needed it.
“That’s just how he plays,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “If we’re playing a pickup game tomorrow at our practice facility, he’s going to play the same. He’s going to talk, he’s going to yell and scream. … But it’s good to have a good game against your former team.”
Bryant agreed. He said it “felt good” to get the start and pour in 14 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and two assists, with both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen missing the front end of a back-to-back due to rest.
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“He gets us going every night,” Mitchell said. “There’s a level of consistency with him.”
The Cavs desperately needed that level of consistency, considering all the players they were missing. They rested Mobley (calf), Allen (knee), and Sam Merrill (hamstring) in addition to being without Dean Wade (ankle) and Jaylon Tyson (toe). That’s five guys right there that are a part of your playoff rotations, which includes your starting front court and their depth.
It’s irresponsible to draw declarative conclusions from how this team looks when none of the five-man lineups — even this starting lineup — should be sharing the court in the postseason. And if the Cavs are forced to run out groups featuring Larry Nance Jr. and Nae’Qwan Tomlin because of injuries, they likely aren’t going to be reaching their postseason goals.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/10-takeaways-cavs-117-108-024300963.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-06 02:43:00
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