Andrew Nembhard says the Indiana Pacers had "nothing to lose" after beating "best in the league" Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

The Pacers ended the Cavaliers' 12-game winning streak in the NBA with their 108-93 victory despite losing star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the second half.

Nembhard stepped up in his absence, producing 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with Pascal Siakam adding 18 points and nine rebounds.

It was Indiana's sixth consecutive win, a season-high streak, rallying to victory despite trailing 53-40 at half-time.

Nembhard knew the Pacers were in for a tough game but was delighted with the fight they showed to get the win.

"There was nothing to lose, this is the best team [Cavaliers] in the league right now," Nembhard said during his on-court interview on the FanDuel Sports Network.

"We had to play hard, play together, and put some more physicality in the game on the defensive side of the ball, and play off of that.

"We were connected [on defense]. We didn't fool around, even when we made mistakes, we helped out each other and just made the next play."

lock down defense

we are the first team this season to hold the Cavaliers to under 100 points. pic.twitter.com/Vrvi3LTiPB
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 13, 2025

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were held to under 100 points for the first time this season as they lost for just the fifth time.

They are still top of the Eastern Conference, and hold a 33-5 record, after being outscored 68-40 in the second half, while being limited to just a 28.2% field-goal rate in that period.

Coach Kenny Atkinson was left frustrated by the stark difference in performance between the first and second halves.

"What disappointed me was our first half was phenomenal, defensively, and then the second half, we fell off," Atkinson said. "So, we couldn't sustain our defense. Just disappointed."