NBA PLAYOFFS: Indiana pulls off big surprise, downs top-seeded Cleveland in East semis opener

Sports

THE Indiana Pacers pulled off one big surprise when they took down the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, 121-112, at the start of the East Conference semifinals on Monday (Philippine time), May 5.

The fourth-seeded Pacers started strong, cooled off in the middle periods before regaining momentum in the final quarter to complete the upset win and steal the homecourt advantage.

Cleveland will still host Game 2 on Wednesday, May 7, before the series shifts to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.

Andrew Nembhard and Tyrese Haliburton joined forces for the Pacers with the former firing 23 points and the latter chipping 22 markers to go with 13 assists.

The Pacers raced to a 36-25 lead after the first quarter but the Cavaliers dominated the second and third periods, outscoring the visiting team, 65-56, to trim the gap entering the final frame, 90-92.

The two teams fought tooth-and-nail in the fourth canto but Haliburton and Nembhard knocked down some big shots that enabled the Pacers to pull through.

Indiana was trailing, 102-101, when Haliburton knocked down a three-pointter before Nembhard canned his own trifecta that shoved the Pacers ahead, 107-102, with 5:41 left.

After a layup by Donovan Mitchell, Nembhard sank another triple, giving the Pacers a 110-104 cushion with just 4:34 left.

Paskal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith added 17 points each for Indiana while Myles Turner and Benedict Mathurin pitched in 13 and 11, respectively.

Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 33 points. Evan Mobley added 20 markers for the Cavaliers, who played without speedy guard Darius Garland, who sat out due to sprained left big toe.(CCM)