Mobley, Garland and Hunter return from injuries to help Cavaliers beat Pacers in Game 3

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers finally had their normal rotations back Friday night.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and All-Star guard Darius Garland were both in the starting lineup, and key backup De'Andre Hunter came off the bench. They made a big difference after the No. 1 seed had lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals at home.

Mobley helped the Cavs maintain a huge rebounding advantage while Garland and Hunter produced big moments in spurts as Cleveland pulled away from the Indiana Pacers 126-104 to cut its series deficit to 2-1.

“I knew if I was going to come out here and play, I had to be able to do certain things,” Mobley said after finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. “I felt pretty comfortable, especially yesterday and then shootaround today, I also felt good. So I was pretty confident I could come out here and play my game.”

Mobley was the most effective of the three despite spraining his left ankle so severely in Game 1, he couldn't initially put any weight on it. Four days of rest certainly helped.

And it was certainly more than enough to help All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell put the game away late. Mitchell finished with 43 points and nine rebounds Friday after his 48-point effort Tuesday fell short of a win.

Garland returned from a sprained big toe on his left foot and had mixed results. He was called for four fouls in the first half and wound up with 10 points and three assists in nearly 25 minutes.

“He’s just playing through a lot of pain to get him to play this game,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland. “But taking the 0-2 situation, I think he had to push through a lot, a lot tonight. So hopefully recovers. quickly."

Hunter had eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes after spraining his right thumb in Game 1. He also absorbed a big collision in the second quarter that nearly knocked him to the ground, but he managed to finish the most physical of the three games.

Indiana had taken advantage of Cleveland's injuries by using its depth to pull away late in Game 1 and rallying from a seven-point deficit in the final minute to take Game 2.

The Pacers had a chance to do it again late after cutting a 24-point lead to 104-93 early in the fourth quarter. But with Cleveland at full strength and the ball in Mitchell's hands, the Cavs pulled away to climb back into the series and avoid the dreaded 3-0 hole.

The big question now for Cleveland is how quickly and completely Mobley, Garland and Hunter can recover, and what they'll be able to do in Game 4 on Sunday at Indianapolis.

“Listen, if he (Garland) could get 15 to 20 minutes, we need it,” Atkinson said. “We need another ball-handler. He can create separation. He can create advantages. Even if it's not going to be perfect, we need him right now.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) hits the ball away from Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, left, collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, right, during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) battle for the ball during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) falls after Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) blocked his shot in the second half during Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley holds his Defensive Player of the Year trophy before Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Shreyas Iyer was provisionally named in India’s squad on Saturday for the home one-day international series against New Zealand starting Jan. 11.

India will host the Black Caps in a white-ball engagement — three ODIs and five T20s — in the build-up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Iyer returns to the international fold after sustaining a spleen injury during an ODI against Australia in Sydney last October.

His selection is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s medical team and he will return as India’s vice-captain for the three-match series.

Skipper Shubman Gill also returns, after he missed the ODI series against South Africa in December. He had a neck spasm in the test series earlier, and subsequently played in the T20s against the Proteas.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Verma missed out. Gaikwad had scored a maiden ODI hundred against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.

Rishabh Pant is retained as second keeper-batter behind Lokesh Rahul, who had stood in as captain against the Proteas.

Star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had both participated in the domestic List A tournament — Vijay Hazare Trophy — and return to the international stage for the ODIs.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya is fit, but not sufficiently enough to bowl 10 overs in an ODI. Thus, he has been rested further ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup (in India and Sri Lanka) starting Feb. 7. Nitish Kumar Reddy is included in the squad.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj returns to lead the bowling lineup with Jasprit Bumrah rested again. Siraj had missed the South Africa series because of workload management.

The three ODIs will be played in Vadodara (Jan. 11), Rajkot (Jan. 14) and Indore (Jan. 18), with the five-match T20 series starting Jan. 21.

Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - Captain of Punjab Kings Shreyas Iyer addresses a news conference on the eve of the final match of Indian Premier League at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)