Myles Turner #33, Aaron Nesmith #23, Pascal Siakam #43, Andrew Nembhard #2 and Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers look on during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Round 2 Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs on May 11, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Joe Murphy, NBAE via Getty Images/AFP
LOS ANGELES -- The Indiana Pacers came from behind to send the Cleveland Cavaliers crashing out of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday.
Cleveland -- the top seeds in the Eastern Conference -- saw their postseason come to an abrupt halt after Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points to power the Pacers to a 114-105 victory, sealing a 4-1 series triumph.
A flurry of six three-pointers from Haliburton helped Indiana wrap up a series victory as the Cavaliers' promising season fizzled out in disappointing fashion on their home court.
Haliburton's scoring was backed by 21 points from Pascal Siakam while Aaron Nesmith contributed 13 points with 13 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points.
"We're talking about eight more wins for an NBA championship," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after guiding his team into the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight year.
"The league is wide open this year. There are a lot of great teams but it's wide open. We've just gotta keep believing."
Trailing 3-1 heading into Tuesday's Game 5, Cleveland looked ready to keep the series alive after surging into a 19-point lead midway through the second quarter at the Rocket Arena.
But Haliburton sparked into life to drain five-of-five from three-point range in a 15-point second quarter to slash Cleveland's advantage to 56-52 heading into half-time.
The Pacers' scoring onslaught continued into the third quarter with the visitors outscoring Cleveland 33-20 to open up a commanding 85-76 lead as the fourth quarter got under way.
Cleveland threatened to rally in the final frame after 16 points from Donovan Mitchell, who was clearly still troubled by the sore left ankle that had threatened to rule him out of the contest.
Mitchell, who finished with 35 points, six rebounds and eight assists, reduced the Indiana lead to 98-97 with just over five minutes remaining after nailing a three-pointer.
But the Cavaliers' failure to threaten from three-point range -- they managed to convert just nine-of-35 attempts from beyond the arc -- continued to be a problem and hopes of a comeback were snuffed out by the Pacers defense.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson lamented his team's stalled playoff campaign which followed a dominant 64-win regular season.
"They were the better team, they deserved it and they played great," Atkinson said of Indiana.
"But the truth of the matter is we didn't get to the level we wanted to get to.
"I do think we made strides. We took a jump -- and now we've got to figure out this last piece, and how to get over this hump."
Fourth-seeds Indiana will meet either the Boston Celtics or arch-rivals the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, with the winner advancing to next month's NBA Finals.
© Agence France-Presse