Pacers escape 19-pt hole; KO Cavaliers in Game 5

TYRESE HALIBURTON scored 31 points and dished out eight assists as the Indiana Pacers eliminated the host Cleveland Cavaliers with a 114-105 decision in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday.

Pascal Siakam put up 21 points for fourth-seeded Indiana, which overcame a 19-point point deficit while closing out the best-of-seven series.

“We’re talking about eight more wins for an NBA championship,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “The league is wide open this year. We’ve just got to keep believing.”

Indiana has qualified for back-to-back trips to the Eastern finals for the first time since 2013-2014, when it lost to the Miami Heat twice. The Pacers were beaten by the eventual champion Boston Celtics last season.

“We’re happy to go to the conference finals, but we want the whole thing this year,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said.

Donovan Mitchell posted 35 points and nine rebounds while playing with a sprained left ankle and sore calf for top-seeded Cleveland, which lost all three home games in the series. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds but a team that went 64-18 in the regular season was sent home.

“They were the better team. They deserved it and played great,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They wore us down. I thought we were built for it, but we weren’t ready for that.”

“The season was not a success in terms of where our goal was. Success would be going to the conference finals, but we didn’t do that. Quite honestly, I expected more coming off the Miami series (a four-game sweep). Now, we’ve got to figure out the next piece.”

After the Cavaliers went up 44-25 early in the second quarter, Haliburton scored 22 points and drained six 3-pointers during an epic 55-24 burst that put the Pacers up 80-68 with 1:50 remaining in the third.

Cleveland got as close as 98-97 with 5:03 left in the fourth on a Mitchell 3-pointer, but Andrew Nembhard answered with a 3-pointer and Haliburton made a three-point play. Haliburton wound up 10 of 15 from the field, including 6 of 10 on 3-point attempts.

Nembhard finished with 18 points and six assists, Aaron Nesmith collected 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Turner had 10 points and four blocked shots for Indiana. The Pacers held the Cavaliers to a 9-of-35 shooting (25.7%) from beyond the arc.

“We had a lot of confidence in what we did last year, even though a lot of people didn’t,” Haliburton said of again reaching the conference finals.

Cleveland All-Star guard Darius Garland had 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting and Max Strus missed all nine of his field-goal attempts. They combined to miss all 12 of their 3-point tries while committing eight fouls.

Mitchell was aggressive from the tip, scoring 13 points and making 7 of 8 free throws as the Cavaliers went up 31-19 after the first.

Haliburton sank five 3-pointers in a 27-12 run to end the first half, bringing the Pacers within 56-52. Haliburton had 17 points at the break, while Mitchell topped Cleveland with 16.

“If we got one when we were up 20 (in Game 2), the series looks a lot different,” Mobley said, referencing a 120-119 home loss. “You have to win the ones you can, and when you’re up 20, these are the ones you have to win.”

“We didn’t start out the best in Game 1, then we got hurt and everything went downhill. We’ve got to be mentally stronger from the jump.”

Mitchell added, “We just didn’t get the job done. Nothing else needs to be said.”

“We let the city down. We let each other down. I believe in this team. That’s what just sucks. We’re a good team, but ultimately for three (home) games, we don’t seem it.” — Reuters