Cavs winning streak ends with loss to Pacers
Here’s ESPN Cleveland reporting on the Cavs, whose 12-game winning streak did not extend to 13 games thanks to hard work by the Indiana Pacers:
It’s a given that all streaks eventually come to an end. Yet, certainly, the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ ended at 12 on Friday night, with a 103-99 loss to an Indiana Pacers team that is 13 games under .500, could be construed as a disappointment.
The loss prevented the Cavs from tying their franchise record of 13 wins in a row (set twice in 2009-10, the last season of LeBron James’ first stint in Cleveland), and, considering they squandered a nine-point lead with eight minutes to go in the fourth, it’s fair to say they blew an opportunity to set a record Sunday at home against the struggling L.A. Lakers.
Yes, the Cavs need as many wins as they can over these final 30 or so games in the regular season to bolster their position in the Eastern Conference standings. The streak did wonders, moving Cleveland into a virtual tie with Chicago for fourth and just a half game behind the slumping Washington Wizards for third, but there is still plenty of ground to make up to catch Toronto (three games ahead at No. 2) and Atlanta (eight games ahead at No. 1 and coming off an impressive 124-116 win over Golden State on Friday).
