Indiana steals Game 1 in Cleveland to take command of the series

Tyrese Haliburton made a go-ahead 3-pointer halfway by means of the fourth quarter that sparked a decisive burst for the Indiana Pacers, who surprised the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 121-112 on Sunday night time in Recreation 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 a playoff career-high 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 document 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 could not 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.

Recreation 2 is Tuesday night time in Cleveland.

Reporting by The Related Press.

Need nice tales delivered proper to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!