Indiana Pacers fall to Cleveland Cavaliers to end 2024 summer league

The Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers faced off in the final 2024 summer league game for both teams on Saturday.

The Pacers were without Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, and Ben Sheppard in the meeting. Those three players already have guaranteed contracts for the 2024-25 season and had little left to show in the summer sessions. Indiana instead started players who are either recent late draft picks or are fighting for roster considerations with the blue and gold.

Thanks to some good defensive plays from Quenton Jackson and some finishing from Oscar Tshiebwe, Indiana was ahead 11-7 early. They were playing their style in the first four minutes with some success.

Cleveland answered and hit hard when reserves entered the game, taking a 16-14 lead with about three minutes left in the opening quarter. That advantage remained as the Cavs were ahead 22-18 at the end of the period.

“We need to make shots. I thought we were taking good shots… let’s keep moving the ball,” Tshiebwe said on the broadcast of what his team needed to do better to get back in the lead.

Instead, it was the Cavaliers who surged to open the second quarter. Their lead reached eight as the Pacers turned the ball over and didn’t get into the paint. They needed to get back to playing their drive-heavy style if they were going to make the game close.

Indiana’s starting five returned to the game and played focused, yet speedy, basketball. They trimmed the Cavs lead thanks to baskets from Kendall Brown and Tristen Newton and had a chance to even the score before halftime arrived.

The Pacers forced a few turnovers, and that helped tie the game up. Tshiebwe was playing well again to close the second quarter, and the score was 38-38 at halftime.

Cleveland scored first to kick off the second half, but Tshiebwe quickly responded by drawing a shooting foul. The G League Rookie of the Year was having a good outing to that point, and the two teams traded the lead for a few minutes in the ensuing stretch.

Indiana pushed their lead as high as five after a highlight play from Jackson, but Cleveland responded and had the advantage moments later. Both teams were inconsistent for much of the night — there were 12 lead changes in total.

After three frames, the Cavaliers were up 66-65. Darius Brown skied in for a putback layup at the buzzer of the third quarter to give his team the lead heading into the final 10 minute frame of summer league for both groups.

The early moments of the fourth quarter went back-and-forth, with the Pacers holding a one-point lead with 7.5 minutes left in the game. Dakota Mathias hit a key shot for the blue and gold to keep them ahead around that time — his shooting stood out during summer league.

With five minutes to go, the Pacers were ahead 81-79. They had several starters on the court and had a chance to put the game away and earn their second summer league victory. Jackson was the star of the show once again for Indiana.

Cleveland reclaimed the lead with 3:50 to go, though, and that proved to be an important bucket — they never trailed again. The blue and gold tied the game a few times, but the Cavaliers always had an answer — particularly from deep. The Pacers defense was poor in crunch time.

A layup from Enrique Freeman, who has been impressive during summer league, cut the Cavs lead to 95-93 with 42.4 seconds left. But Cleveland responded with another three — their sixth of the quarter — and it proved to be the dagger.

The Cavaliers won 100-93. Jackson finished with 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals for the Pacers. Tshiebwe and Newton both had 17 points. Indiana finished summer league 1-4 and won’t play a game again until preseason action.