Kevin Love, Cedi Osman lead late Cavaliers avalanche to ice the Pacers

Kevin Love, Cedi Osman lead Cleveland Cavaliers over the Pacers

The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a terrible start to heat up late, securing a 98-85 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers. Without their floor general in Darius Garland once more, the Cavs struggled early but eventually figured a way out of the rut, and how.

After falling behind by as much as 20 points in the first half following an absolutely frigid start, Cleveland finally thawed off and slowly chipped their way back into the game. Despite still trailing by double-figures towards the end of the third period, the Cavaliers began to show signs of life.

Veteran forward Kevin Love and fellow reserve Cedi Osman then erupted to spark a 19-0 run to open the fourth quarter to give the Cavs their first lead of the game, one that eventually ballooned up to 17. Both players have struggled early but appeared to have found their second wind, especially Osman, who scored 18 of his 22 points in that momentum-shifting final period.

Osman led all Cavaliers in scoring, while Love, a dark horse candidate for this year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year award added 19 markers, seven boards, five assists, and two steals in the gutsy win.

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Cavs continue rolling towards the All-Star weekend

Cleveland also got a massive boost from Jarrett Allen and veteran point guard Rajon Rondo. The 23-year-old Allen continues his double-double streak with 15 points and 17 rebounds to go with two huge swats as he remains hopeful to replace injured Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant in the upcoming All-Star game.

Meanwhile, Rondo also tallied a double-double of his own with 15 points and 12 assists to help lead the Cavaliers over the Pacers. It somehow feels like Cleveland took away two wins in a day, scoring a massive acquisition in Indiana’s star swingman Caris Levert via a trade for the injured Ricky Rubio and future draft picks.

The red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers remain firm in fourth place following the victory and are now just one game behind the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat. Up next will be one more home game against the San Antonio Spurs (Feb. 9), before departing for another lengthy road trip.