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Former Pacer Caris LeVert leads Cavaliers to comeback win over Indiana
Two games into his Cavaliers career, Caris LeVert has already made an impact. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Former Pacer Caris LeVert leads Cavaliers to comeback win over Indiana

Caris LeVert has played a part in plenty of wins at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in his career. The difference on Friday? He was playing for the road team.

LeVert led the Cavs to a come-from-behind 120-113 win over the Pacers, taking down his former team. It was his second appearance with Cleveland since being acquired from Indiana in a trade on Feb. 6.

The 27-year-old found himself in the starting lineup for the first time as a Cavalier when All-Star guard Darius Garland was ruled out shortly before tipoff. It came on the heels of a 28-minute performance in his debut with the Cavs -- a win over the Spurs on Wednesday -- in which he scored 11 points and dished out two assists.

On Friday, the Cavs fell behind big early to the Pacers, who were led by Tyrese Haliburton after they acquired him in a separate deal with the Kings earlier in the week. Indiana jumped out to an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter, and led, 47-28, by the end of the period. The second quarter was much of the same, as Indiana led by 11 going into the half thanks to a Chris Duarte three with 10.5 seconds remaining.

Cleveland cut the deficit to eight by the end of the third, but the fourth quarter is when things really began to heat up. The Pacers kept the Cavs at an arm's length for the first half of the frame, but they slowly worked their way back into until LeVert hit a jumper to make it a one-score game with just under five minutes left to play.

Less than a minute later, after Indiana missed three shots on one possession, Cleveland came out of a timeout and got the ball to Rajon Rondo, who hit a three to put the Cavs up 110-109. On Cleveland's next possession, LeVert scored again to put the Cavaliers up three.

LeVert wouldn't let up there. He scored again on the Cavs' next possession, and again with just over a minute left to put them up by six. The Pacers cut it to three, but a dunk by Evan Mobley and a pair of free throws by Rondo put the game on ice.

In total, LeVert outscored the Pacers 8-4 over the last five minutes of the game. He finished with 22 points, two rebounds and five assists on 10-for-19 shooting from the field while also logging three steals.

The Cavaliers are now 35-21 and sit in second place in the Eastern Conference.

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