Cavaliers 81 - 96 Pacers
Final
  for this game

Irving, Cavs carry momentum into Indiana

Dec 12, 2012 - 3:59 PM (Sports Network) - The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up their best win of the season on Tuesday when Kyrie Irving returned for a home victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

They will try to keep the momentum going Wednesday when they visit the Indiana Pacers.

Irving came back after missing 11 games with a broken finger and torched the Lakers for 28 points and 11 assists. He shot 4-for-6 from the 3-point line, but it was a great team effort.

C.J. Miles, starting at shooting guard for rookie Dion Waiters, who is out with an ankle injury, matched Irving's 28 points. Miles did it on 5-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Anderson Varejao chipped in 20 points and nine rebounds and Alonzo Gee netted 17.

"I felt good," said Irving, the reigning Rookie of the Year. "We competed on both ends of the floor. It wasn't me playing the Lakers. I'm just proud of our guys."

The victory snapped a five-game losing streak and a four-game slide at home.

Wednesday's game will be telling for Irving to see how his finger responds on the second of a back-to-back.

"I think I'll be fine," Irving said after the game on Tuesday. "I'm a little sore now, but I kind of knew that going in. Just ice it and be ready for tomorrow's game."

The Pacers come into Wednesday's tilt the losers of two in a row, including a home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday and a road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

The Pacers played a pretty good game against the defending Western Conference champions. All five starters scored in double-figures, highlighted by 21 from David West.

Indiana turned it over a season-low seven times against the Thunder, but Oklahoma City is one of the best teams in the league and the Pacers aren't quite there yet.

"I'm happy that our offense is continuing to grow. And I like (how) we guarded them," said head coach Frank Vogel. "We played a heck of a game and we lost to a heck of a team."

The Pacers play their next two at home.

Indiana has bested Cleveland in eight of the last nine and the Cavs haven't won in Bankers Life Fieldhouse since Jan. 29, 2010, losing four straight there.






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