Pacers take 'Why not?' attitude into playoff rematch with Cavaliers

The Indiana Pacers haven't had many opportunities to celebrate this season, but they are heading to Cleveland on a high after winning for just the second time.

Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam scored 22 points for Indiana in a 127-118 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Jay Huff added 20 points off the bench as the Pacers snapped an eight-game losing streak.

They aim to keep the good vibes flowing Friday against the up-and-down Cavaliers, who are 2-2 on their six-game homestand.

Mathurin isn't backing down from his statement earlier in the week that the Pacers are capable of winning 10 in a row.

"Why not? That's the real question," Mathurin told FanDuel Sports Network Indiana. "This was a much-needed win. We have one down and we're going to Cleveland to fight and to win the game."

Mathurin averaged 31.0 points in two games before spraining his right great toe. After missing three weeks, the native of Montreal returned Monday and scored 25 points in 25 minutes during a 127-112 loss at the Detroit Pistons.

With one game under his belt, Mathurin reported no physical issues before logging 34 minutes against Charlotte. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard also made the defensive play of the night with a chase-down block on Hornets guard Collin Sexton.

"I don't want to sound too cocky, but I think everybody knows I can score," Mathurin said. "I love basketball, man, so we're going to do whatever it takes for me to be healthy and help out my teammates."

The Pacers are visiting Cleveland for the first time since upsetting the top-seeded Cavaliers in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals, winning all three games on the road thanks to an epic performance by now-injured point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Coach Kenny Atkinson was searching for answers Wednesday after Cleveland was consistently outplayed in a 114-104 home loss to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets won the rebounding battle 51-39 and scored 21 second-chance points on 16 offensive boards.

"We couldn't stand toe to toe with them," Atkinson said. "We've got to rebound the ball better. Last year in the playoffs, we did a pretty good job, but we've got to focus on it a little more."

Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 21 points in the fourth period against Houston, including a 3-pointer that pulled the Cavaliers within one after they trailed by 22, but post players Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen couldn't come up with key rebounds.

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Mobley had just six boards in 36 minutes and shot 4 of 10 on free-throw attempts. Allen didn't get to the line and had seven rebounds.

"I don't have an answer for that because we go in there and try to rebound," Mobley said. "Some balls bounce to us and some don't. It's really a team thing; it's never just on one or two people."

The Cavaliers also have plummeted to 25th in the 30-team league in free-throw percentage (75%) following their 62.5% outing against the Rockets.

"I've got to be better," said Mobley, who is shooting a career-low 60.4% from the line. "It's probably the worst I've shot free throws in my whole time playing basketball. We've got to figure it out soon."

--Field Level Media