Indianapolis -- For 20 minutes, it was tough to tell which team was fighting for a playoff spot Friday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Cavaliers were clicking on offense, closing on defense and cruising to a 14-point lead against the Indiana Pacers.
But after building a 32-18 advantage midway through the second quarter, the Cavs were outscored by the Pacers, 23-11, the rest of that period and 34-13 in the third quarter as Indiana clinched a playoff spot with an easy 102-83 victory.
"The third quarter is really what got us out of the game," said Cavs forward Antawn Jamison, who scored his 12 points in the first half and played just 9:31 in the second. "We did a bad job of playing 48 minutes."
Omri Casspi led the Cavs with 14 points, Donald Sloan scored 12, and Samardo Samuels had 10 points and 10 rebounds as Cleveland fell to 19-38.
Danny Granger had 18 points, Tyler Hansbrough 16 and George Hill 15 for the Pacers (37-22), who have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference behind Chicago and Miami. Roy Hibbert had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavs had taken the Pacers to overtime before losing Wednesday night in Cleveland, but Jamison didn't think Indiana did anything differently Friday night.
"Nope," he said. "We knew the game plan coming in. They just stepped it up in the third quarter, and we did a bad job of communicating on the defensive end."
The Pacers, who shot just 21 percent in the first quarter, hit 58 percent in the third quarter, while holding the Cavs to 16.7 percent (3-of-18, including 0-of-5 for Jamison.)
"The third quarter, we couldn't make a shot," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "We had about 10 open shots and made one of them. In turn, missing those shots, they got some quick run-outs for some easy buckets. We couldn't buy a bucket in the third quarter, and I thought offensively they got going a little bit and ended up having a big quarter. That's what cost us the game."
The Pacers totally dominated inside, outscoring the Cavs in the paint, 46-22, and on second-chance points, 25-18. They also had a 14-0 advantage in fast-break points, in part because of Cleveland's 19 turnovers that led to 22 Indiana points.
"Them getting second-chance points was a killer," Scott said. "And 19 turnovers for 22 points was a killer. We just can't afford to turn the ball over that many times."
Missing centers Anderson Varejao (fractured wrist) and Semih Erden (sprained right ankle) definitely hurts against a big team such as the Pacers.
"It's tough," Scott said. "It takes its toll as the game goes on. Guys start to wear down a little bit. They're a big, physical basketball team. We just had a game against them the other day, so we know how physical they are.
"But I'm very proud of the way our guys matched it and didn't back down, kept fighting. We just don't have enough right now. Those guys right now, they're playing for something a whole lot bigger."
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