The Cavs Upset The Pacers On A Last-Second Tip-In By Larry Nance Jr.


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The Indiana Pacers entered Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers as the NBA’s hottest team. Nate McMillan’s team was riding a seven-game winning streak and, according to the good folks in Las Vegas, the Pacers began the evening as 12.5-point favorites over the lowly Cavs.

However, Indiana’s winning streak is no longer active on the heels of a 92-91 home loss and, in the waning seconds, the fatal blow was dealt by Cavs big man Larry Nance Jr.

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Nance Jr. finished with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds on the evening, stuffing the stat sheet in an overall sense and, of course, making the biggest play of the evening. He wasn’t alone, though, as six players reached double-figures for Cleveland and the Cavaliers held the previously scalding Pacers to just 40 percent shooting and 18 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

While an upset in December may not seem earth-shattering, the aforementioned Vegas line could be instructive for context, as Cleveland was among the bigger long-shots to pull off a victory so far this season.

Things happen in the NBA and, quite obviously, the Pacers were probably due for a defeat. Still, this one came in surprising fashion and Nance Jr.’s heroics happened to occur just as the scoreboard was flipping to triple zeroes.