Tyrese Haliburton ignites closing
run for Pacers, who stun Cavs 121-112 in Game 1 of East semis
[May 05, 2025]
By JOE REEDY
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton hardly resembled the player whose
peers have deemed him overrated.
The dynamic Indiana point guard scored 22 points — including a
go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter — had 13
assists and made crucial defensive plays that propelled the Pacers
to a 121-112 victory over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on
Sunday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“We’re definitely the heavy underdog, but we’re trying to control
what we can," said Haliburton, who was voted the NBA's most
overrated player in a recent anonymous player survey by The
Athletic. "It gives us a lot of momentum for sure, but this is the
best team in our conference. They don’t lose much.”
About the only thing Haliburton didn't do well was shoot 3-pointers.
On a night when the fourth-seeded Pacers were 19 of 36 from beyond
the arc, Haliburton was 2 of 6. But the second one ended up being
decisive.
The Cavs went ahead 102-101 on a free throw by Max Strus before
Haliburton’s 3 ignited a 15-4 run.
Andrew Nembhard scored 23 points and made two of his five 3-pointers
during the four-minute stretch when the Pacers pulled away.
“We had an exceptionally good shot-making night, but the key word is
aggression. We’ve got to be in attack mode to beat this team,"
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.
All five Indiana starters scored in double figures. Aaron Nesmith
and Pascal Siakam had 17 points apiece.
Haliburton's standout defensive plays included blocking a 3-point
attempt by Strus with 2:12 left and converting it into a layup for a
10-point lead. His assists led to 34 points, including eight
3-pointers.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 33 points and broke Michael
Jordan’s NBA playoff record with his eighth straight game of at
least 30 points in a series opener.
Evan Mobley added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who
were without point guard Darius Garland for the third straight
playoff game due to a sprained left big toe.
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Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton (0) goes to the basket in front of
Cleveland Cavaliers' Dean Wade (32) in the first half of Game 1 in
the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs
Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Besides struggling with Indiana’s pace, Cleveland
was done in by poor 3-point shooting. The Cavs were second in the
NBA during the regular season with 15.9 3s per game, but went 9 of
38. The 23.7% rate was their second-worst of the season.
“We missed a lot of good looks, and then when you
miss shots, that’s when they get going in transition,” said
Mitchell, who was 1 of 11 on 3-pointers. “The biggest thing is, when
the shots aren’t falling, how do you respond? But when a team like
this runs like that, it makes it tough.”
Cleveland rarely trailed in its first-round sweep of the Miami Heat
that included a 55-point victory in Game 4.
Coach Kenny Atkinson was worried about Indiana's pace coming into
the series. He's hoping his team can find ways to control the flow
during Game 2 on Tuesday night.
“I don’t feel like we had the rhythm of the game. We have to move
forward,” Atkinson said. “The positive is we got accustomed to how
they were playing. We’ll figure out the 3-point shooting.”
Indiana had a 12-point lead in the third quarter before Cleveland
rallied. The Cavs grabbed the lead in the fourth, but couldn't hang
on and close it out.
“I thought we did a good job when that ‘Cavalanche’ was on the way.
We did a great job of weathering that," Haliburton said.
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