Cavs post game quotes: David Blatt praises Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love talks defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers moved about .500 on Saturday night after a 109-97 win over the Indiana Pacers. It was a home game, the Pacers were playing on the second night of a back to back, and it's a team that's been devastated by injury. This was a game you want and expect the Cavs to win.

And they did! And it was fun. The Cavs put together quotes from the game, and you should go over and read all of them. I picked out a few interesting ones.

The Cavaliers were without Anderson Varejao, and Tristan Thompson got the start in his place. David Blatt was impressed with how Thompson filled in:

"I thought that Tristan was outstanding today. I thought that he set the tone for us physically, battling David West who is a terrific basketball player. David scored a few but they came hard. Tristan was all around the basket and all around the paint legally putting his body on people and being a presence. He played a lot minutes which he has not done up to this point. He took the challenge, took responsibility and really gave us a great game. In my mind, (he was) sort of the unsung hero of the night certainly."

Kevin Love was asked how he can get better defensively:

"Just understanding it better. I’ve never been really known for that in my career. Being a lockdown defender is something that I know I’ll never be. But as far as being a team defender, being in the right spots…being physical, doing those things – I can get a lot better at that. And just continuing to break down film and see where I can get better out there. So yeah, I think it’s something I can continue to buy into and get better at."

This was a nice win, and the Cavaliers are on a little bit of a roll. We will see if they can keep it up.