The Cleveland Cavaliers finally had their normal rotations back Friday night.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and All-Star guard Darius Garland were both in the starting lineup, and key backup De’Andre Hunter came off the bench. They made a big difference after the No. 1 seed had lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals at home.
Mobley helped the Cavs maintain a huge rebounding advantage while Garland and Hunter produced big moments in spurts as Cleveland pulled away from the Indiana Pacers 126-104 to cut its series deficit to 2-1.
“I knew if I was going to come out here and play, I had to be able to do certain things,” Mobley said after finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. “I felt pretty comfortable, especially yesterday and then shootaround today, I also felt good. So I was pretty confident I could come out here and play my game.”
“He’s just playing through a lot of pain to get him to play this game,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland. “But taking the 0-2 situation, I think he had to push through a lot, a lot tonight. So hopefully recovers. quickly.”
The big question now for Cleveland is how quickly and completely Mobley, Garland and Hunter can recover, and what they’ll be able to do in Game 4 on Sunday at Indianapolis.
