The Cleveland Cavaliers are out to apply the brakes on their modest two-game skid Thursday when they visit the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Darius Garland’s sizzling 46-point performance ultimately went for naught in the Cavaliers’ 125-117 home setback to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Garland recorded his fourth career 40-point game and third this season after making 14 of 20 shots from the floor.
Mitchell also is a team leader, however he has struggled to find his shot over the last two games. He is mired in a 9-of-32 stretch (28.2 percent) from the field after making at least eight shots in each of his previous nine games.
Mitchell certainly was better in his last encounter with the Pacers, pouring in 41 points in the Cavaliers’ 118-112 victory on Dec. 16. He averages a team-best 28.5 points per game.
Indiana enters Thursday’s clash having won three of its last four games. The Pacers posted a 129-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday in the opener of their four-game homestand.
Buddy Hield drained six 3-pointers to highlight his 28-point performance. He has made at least four 3-pointers in five of his last six games, shooting a robust 63.6 percent from distance in that span (28 of 44).
Haliburton scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
Haliburton collected 17 points and 14 assists in the previous meeting with the Cavaliers. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin had a team-high 22 points in that contest, while Hield chipped in 14.
