CLEVELAND – The Indiana Pacers certainly set the tone in Game 1 of their semifinal playoff series against the heavily favored Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Blue-and-Gold scored 36 points in the first quarter and held a six-point lead at halftime. Every time the Cavs went on a run, the Pacers responded.
Indiana pushed the lead to double digits in the third quarter, but the top-seeded Cavaliers, fueled by star Donovan Mitchell and a raucous crowd, clawed their way back, eventually taking the lead.
Cleveland’s 20-4 run included 13 straight points. They eventually took a four-point lead at 88-84. The Pacers could’ve easily folded.
Instead, Bennedict Mathurin hit a three to cut the lead to one and Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup gave Indiana the lead. Mitchell responded with a layup of his own, but Myles Turner calmly sank a three-pointer from the corner as buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
The Pacers entered the fourth with a 92-90 lead. From there, the game went back and forth until the Pacers took control with three-pointers from Haliburton and Nembhard (who nailed two key shots from distance) and a tip-in from Turner.
A key sequence also included a defensive stop from Mathurin, who went up high to block De’Andre Hunter. Hunter hit the deck, and the ball landed on top of him. Cleveland challenged the call, claiming Hunter had been fouled, but officials upheld the call, and possession went back to Indiana.
When the final horn sounded, Indiana had grabbed a 121-112 Game 1 victory.
They shot 53% from the floor, including 52.8% from three-point range, where they hit 19 of 36 from distance. The Cavs, meantime, shot 45.9% on the night and were just 9 of 38 (23.7%) from beyond the arc.
“We had an exceptionally good shot-making night. We’re a bit fortunate some of those were late clock, up-against-it [makes],” said coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle knew Rocket Arena would be loud and the crowd overwhelming. And while the Pacers kept the lead for much of the first three quarters, a Cavaliers run was inevitable.
“They threw a major haymaker at us in the second part of the third quarter,” Carlisle said. “I thought our guys held strong. They just dug in and held strong.”
“I thought we did a great job weathering the storm when that ‘Cav-alanche’ was on its way,” echoed Tyrese Haliburton, who finished with 22 points, 13 assists, three rebounds, three blocks and a steal.
For now, the Pacers hold the series lead. Carlisle knows Cleveland will respond on Tuesday night.
“They’re very good at what they do. They will adjust and do what they do better,” he said.
The Cavs finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference to earn the No. 1 seed. The Pacers can’t be content with simply winning one game.
“We’ve got to stay hungry. I don’t know of many people who gave us a chance in this series. We’ve got to use that as some level of motivation, but we know what we’re capable of,” Carlisle said. “Game 2 will be exceptionally hard.”
“They’re going to respond,” Haliburton said. “We’ve got to be prepared for that.”
Six Pacers finished with double digits: Andrew Nembhard (23), Haliburton (22), Pascal Siakam (17), Aaron Nesmith (17), Turner (13) and Mathurin (11). Mitchell led the Cavs with 33.
Carlisle lauded Haliburton’s defensive performance and clutch play at the end of the game. In the final six minutes, Haliburton had three assists, a pair of blocks and a layup that put the Pacers up by ten.
“Ty, at the end of the game, he made some huge plays,” Carlisle said.
Haliburton blocked two shots in the span of 24 seconds, including a floater from Ty Jerome and a three from Max Strus. It’s a part of his game he’s worked hard to improve.
“Just trying to be solid and help the team win,” Haliburton said of his defensive play. “Coach Carlisle and the staff have really been on me to take a step on that end of the floor. I’m just trying to be solid.”
Haliburton said it was incumbent upon his team to keep its edge.
“We try to be a confident group. Coming into this series, there’s not a lot of people picking us to win by any means,” he said. “We’re definitely the heavy underdog in this series, but I think we’re trying to control what we can as a group, just keep believing in what we do.”
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the series:
- Game 2: Tuesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. on TNT
- Game 3: Friday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 4: Sunday, May 11 at 8 p.m. on TNT
- Game 5: Tuesday, May 13, time TBD on TNT (if necessary)
- Game 6: Thursday, May 15, time TBD on ESPN (if necessary)
- Game 7: Sunday, May 18, time and broadcast TBD (if necessary)