CLEVELAND — Tyrese Haliburton made a go-ahead 3-pointer halfway by the fourth quarter that sparked a decisive burst for the Indiana Pacers, who shocked the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 121-112 on Sunday night time in Sport 1 of the Japanese Convention semifinals.
Haliburton completed with 22 factors and 13 assists, and he additionally made key performs on the defensive finish, blocking a 3-point try by Max Strus with 2:12 left and changing it right into a layup for a 10-point lead.
Andrew Nembhard added 23 factors and made 5 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Pacers, who completed 19 of 36 past the arc. Cleveland, which was second within the NBA throughout the common season with 15.9 3s per recreation, was 9 of 38.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 33 factors and broke Michael Jordan’s NBA playoff file along with his eighth straight recreation of a minimum of 30 factors in a sequence opener.
Evan Mobley added 20 factors and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who trailed a lot of the recreation, took the lead within the fourth after which couldn’t shut it out.
Indiana had a 12-point lead within the third earlier than Cleveland rallied. The Cavs went forward 102-101 on a free throw by Strus earlier than Haliburton’s 3 ignited a 15-4 run.
All 5 Indiana starters scored in double figures. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam had 17 factors apiece.
Sport 2 is Tuesday night time in Cleveland.
By Joe Reedy
