• Tweet

• Tweet

Danny Granger, as of late, has seen his game evolve.

While we all know and acknowledge that he could always shoot the rock, his defense has taken a turn for the better too. And the Indiana Pacers are all the better because of it.

Fresh off a huge win in Miami, the Pacers returned home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Conseco Fieldhouse Tuesday night. And while neither team shot very well (Indiana shot 44 percent to Cleveland’s 42 percent), Granger picked up where he left off Monday as he had 10 second quarter points, allowing Indiana to easily dispose of Cleveland 100-89.

While there were many complementary parts to the Pacers’ effort, Granger had lots of help as Brandon Rush scored seven points in the first quarter to help the Pacers take an early 24-16 lead. But by and large, it was the Danny Granger Show in the first half as he went to go 3-for-3 in the second quarter – including a pair of 3-pointers – which allowed Indiana to outscore Cleveland 38-21 in the period and take a commanding 62-37 lead at halftime.

Granger scored the first five points of the second half as the Pacers built up a 34-point cushion with just over 2 minutes left in the third quarter. From that point on, Indiana would cruise to the victory.

Granger lead all Pacers players with a game-high 24 points (including 5 three-pointers) along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block while Darren Collison added 18 with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal. Rush came off the bench to chip in 16 with 3 rebounds and a block.

High scoring honors for the Cavaliers were shared between bench players Daniel Gibson and Ramon Sessions, each scoring 15 points – with Gibson grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists while Sessions grabbed 6 boards, dished out 5 assists along with a steal. Antawn Jamison chipped in 12 with 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Indiana (7-6) remains at home for the Thanksgiving holidays and do not play again until Friday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder while Cleveland (5-8), losers of their past three, return home to host the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday.