Pacers build 41-point halftime lead
and rout Cavaliers 129-109 for a 3-1 series lead
[May 12, 2025]
By MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers spent two days looking for
solutions against top-seeded Cleveland.
On Sunday, they delivered an emphatic answer.
Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, Myles Turner and Obi Toppin each
scored 20 and the Pacers tied an NBA playoff record with a 41-point
halftime lead before blowing out the Cavs 129-109 to take a 3-1
series lead.
The No. 4-seeded Pacers can close it out Tuesday in Cleveland, where
they’ve already won twice.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” coach Rick Carlisle said after
earning his 33rd playoff win with Indiana, passing Larry Bird for
the most in the franchise’s NBA history. “We’re going to keep
approaching this like we have everything to prove. We know people
don’t believe in us, so we’re just going to stay in the fight and
keep fighting.”
The Pacers certainly showed some resolve two days after an
embarrassing 22-point loss on their home court, a game in which
Cleveland dominated the glass and held two-time All-Star Tyrese
Haliburton to four points and five assists.
This time, the towel-waving home crowd helped spur Indiana, right
from the start of a physical, sometimes chippy game.
The Pacers built a 44-point lead before settling for an 80-39
halftime margin that matched the league’s previous best since
detailed play-by-play was kept, set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the
2017 Eastern Conference finals against Boston.
Indiana did much of its damage without Bennedict Mathurin, one of
its best scorers, who was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul just 7 1/2
minutes into the game. And with Donovan Mitchell missing the second
half because of an injured left ankle, the Cavs had no chance.
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Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) celebrates in the first half
of Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference
semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Sunday,
May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Darius Garland led the Cavs with 21 points in his
second game back from an injured toe. Mitchell finished with 12.
Coach Kenny Atkinson said Mitchell would have an MRI exam Monday.
“Complete domination by them,” Atkinson said briefly, before
explaining at least the Cavs have two of the final three games on
their home court. “They dominated us in every facet of the game.”
Indiana wasted no time taking control quickly with early runs of
11-2 and 13-0 to build a commanding 48-23 lead with 9:24 left in the
first half. They didn’t stop — or back down — there, either, closing
the half on a 19-2 run
Aaron Nesmith’s buzzer-beating midrange jumper put the Pacers in
another exclusive club — the 10th team in playoff history and second
this week to score 80 points in the first half of a playoff game.
Oklahoma City scored 87 points in Game 2 against Denver.
Turner made all four of his 3-point attempts with Indianapolis 500
winners Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, WNBA Rookies of the Year
Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, and former NFL star Reggie Wayne in
the crowd.
“We felt the last game, they set the tone from a physical
standpoint,” Haliburton said after finishing with 11 points, five
rebounds and five assists. “Today, we came out and set the tone from
the jump, really just rode that wave.”
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