Center Rienk Mast posted 16 points and 11 rebounds and swingman Taevion Kinsey added 16 points to lead the Pacers to a 99-93 win over the Cavaliers at the Pavilion in Las Vegas on Friday in the first NBA Summer League game of the season for both teams.
Forward Jalen Slawson added 15 points, six rebounds, five ***** ists and five blocks for the Pacers. Guard Taelon Peter scored 13 points and forward Keion Brooks Jr. added 11. Guard Meleek Thomas and forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin led the Cavaliers with 20 points each. Guard Malakhi Branham added 15 points.
The Pacers and Cavs both had a brutal first quarter with evident jitters as both struggled to make shots and take care of the basketball. Cleveland led 14-11 after the first quarter as the Pacers got a few buckets from center Rienk Mast but little else.
But the the Pacers combined for 64 points in the middle two quarters, outscoring Cleveland 32-15 in the third to take a sizable lead heading into the fourth. A big part of what sparked the revival was the play of point guards Braden Smith and Yuki Kawamura, and the fact that the Pacers didn't have a problem putting both on the floor at the same time. That obviously made them small in the backcourt as Smith is just 5 foot 10 and Kawamura is 5-7, but they're both so good at passing the ball and getting it ahead that they made the pace of the game work for them.
Smith finished with just five points on 1 of 8 shooting including 1 of 5 from 3 but he had eight rebounds, four ***** ists and three steals. Kawamura had eight points on 3 of 5 shooting and four ***** ists, but their impacts went beyond just the counting stats as they raised the level for everyone else on the floor. As ***** istant coach Johnny Carpenter said about Kawamura before leaving for his job in Milwaukee, Kawamura and Smith both force everyone around them to move more when they're on the floor and them being around got everyone else organized and also running hard up and down the floor looking for opportunities. Kawamura was plus-4 in his time on the floor though Smith was minus-5.
Forward Jalen Slawson added 15 points, six rebounds, five ***** ists and five blocks for the Pacers. Guard Taelon Peter scored 13 points and forward Keion Brooks Jr. added 11. Guard Meleek Thomas and forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin led the Cavaliers with 20 points each. Guard Malakhi Branham added 15 points.
The Pacers and Cavs both had a brutal first quarter with evident jitters as both struggled to make shots and take care of the basketball. Cleveland led 14-11 after the first quarter as the Pacers got a few buckets from center Rienk Mast but little else.
But the the Pacers combined for 64 points in the middle two quarters, outscoring Cleveland 32-15 in the third to take a sizable lead heading into the fourth. A big part of what sparked the revival was the play of point guards Braden Smith and Yuki Kawamura, and the fact that the Pacers didn't have a problem putting both on the floor at the same time. That obviously made them small in the backcourt as Smith is just 5 foot 10 and Kawamura is 5-7, but they're both so good at passing the ball and getting it ahead that they made the pace of the game work for them.
Smith finished with just five points on 1 of 8 shooting including 1 of 5 from 3 but he had eight rebounds, four ***** ists and three steals. Kawamura had eight points on 3 of 5 shooting and four ***** ists, but their impacts went beyond just the counting stats as they raised the level for everyone else on the floor. As ***** istant coach Johnny Carpenter said about Kawamura before leaving for his job in Milwaukee, Kawamura and Smith both force everyone around them to move more when they're on the floor and them being around got everyone else organized and also running hard up and down the floor looking for opportunities. Kawamura was plus-4 in his time on the floor though Smith was minus-5.
19 days ago
