INDIANAPOLIS – The Cleveland Cavaliers showed signs of life in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Indiana Pacers after winning Game 3 126-104 on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers now lead the series 2-1 as the road team has won all three games.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 43 points while Max Strus contributed 20 points. Bennedict Mathurin paced Indiana with 23 points.
After hitting the game-winning shot in Game 2 on Tuesday, Tyrese Haliburton struggled. The star guard scored just four points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Cleveland jumped out to an 11-0 lead and would go up by as many as 15 points in the first before the Pacers stormed right back, tying the game at 32 on a Ben Sheppard three-pointer with two seconds to play in the quarter.
The Cavaliers used a 6-0 run early in the second quarter to regain control, building their lead to 21 by halftime.
Indiana got within 15 in the third quarter on an Andrew Nembhard three-pointer, but Cleveland countered with a 9-0 spurt to push the lead to 24. The Cavaliers led 97-79 after three quarters.
The Pacers attempted to mount another furious rally in the fourth, cutting the Cleveland lead to 11 on a Pascal Siakam three-pointer, but Mitchell and Strus hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to 17 with just under seven minutes to play.
Key contributors guard Darius Garland and forwards Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter returned for the Cavaliers after missing time earlier in the series.
Game 4 is set for Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.