Surging Pacers set for back-to-back vs. sizzling Cavs

The Indiana Pacers have enjoyed quite the start to the calendar year, winning all five of their games in 2025 by double-digit margins.The Pacers have a tall task on their hands as they vie for a season-high winning streak on Sunday when they visit the white-hot Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of a home-and-home series.Winners of 12 in a row and off to a franchise-best start to the season (33-4), the Cavaliers will visit Indianapolis on Tuesday night.The Pacers, who previously won five straight games on Dec. 13-23, extended their current streak with a 108-96 victory over the short-handed Golden State Warriors on Friday.Tyrese Haliburton collected 25 points and 10 assists, marking the fourth time in his last five games that he has surpassed 20 points, as the Pacers completed a two-game season sweep of the Warriors. It was also Haliburton’s third double-double during the winning streak.”Just getting to the paint, being aggressive. I’ve been getting downhill, being aggressive,” Haliburton said of his torrid stretch. “… But the numbers don’t lie. Y’all can look it up. The more I’m in the paint, the more we win games. It’s really been about me being aggressive to get two feet in the paint … it opens up everything for me, it opens up everything for everybody else.”Pascal Siakam recorded 25 points and nine rebounds and Bennedict Mathurin added 21 and 10 to post his seventh double-double of the season.”Finding him in the right spots. He can score with the best of them, so we know he can do that,” Haliburton said of Mathurin. “He’s doing a great job defending. He had 10 rebounds (Friday), which is huge. He’s doing a great job, just doing what’s needed right now and filling that role very nicely.”The surging Cavaliers have several players filling the stat sheet as well, notably Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.