Smith registers season-high 23 points, lifts Cavs to 115-108 win over Pacers; Three takeaways

Rose finds form in third

The Cavs entered play with the fifth-ranked offense in the NBA (109.5 points per game), but the 11^th-ranked offense in the third quarter (26.6 points per quarter).

That disparity was not a factor on Friday, as Rose and the defense delivered.

Cleveland opened the third quarter on a 7-4 run, forcing head coach Nate McMillan to take a timeout. The Pacers cut the margin to as little as seven points, but another adjustment by Lue sparked a turnaround on both sides of the ball.

Enter Rose.

With Dwyane Wade sitting out (personal), Rose spearheaded the bench courtesy of seven points on three consecutive shots in the third quarter. He swiped a loose ball for a steal, and raised his +/- efficiency by 10 points before eventually finishing with a 75 percent shooting percentage (6-of-8), two rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers.

“D-Rose gave us a nice spark off the bench,” Lue said. “His spark that he had when he came in was really big for us in winning the game.”

“He was really, really good tonight,” said James. “He made his jump shots, he got to the rim and he made plays. That’s the backup point guard that we’ve been thinking we were going to have, and to see him look healthy tonight and play with so much composure, it was great to have.”

Isaiah Thomas was not nearly as effective – 12 points (5-of-13 from the field), two rebounds, five assists and five turnovers.

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