The Indiana Pacers are heading back to the
Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in over a decade, completing a dramatic comeback and stunning the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 114-105 Game 5 victory on Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
After falling behind early, Indiana surged in the second half behind Tyrese Haliburton's 31 points and Pascal Siakam’s 21-point performance. The win clinched the series 4-1 for the fourth-seeded Pacers, marking the first time since the
2013-14 season that Indiana has reached the conference finals in back-to-back years.
Rick Carlisle: “The Winning Team Writes the Script”
Pacers head coach
Rick Carlisle praised his team’s resilience and execution, noting how Indiana's up-tempo playstyle ultimately wore down the Cavaliers.
“The winning team writes the script,” Carlisle said. “I have to give our guys credit — they earned this. [Cleveland] had the perfect season, and we came along and were hot at the right time.”
Indiana trailed by 19 points in the second quarter but flipped the game after halftime with a relentless pace. The Pacers shot 14-of-22 from the field in the third quarter and used a
17-2 run to seize momentum heading into the fourth.
Cavaliers Collapse at Home
Donovan Mitchell, who returned from a sprained left ankle that sidelined him in the second half of Game 4, poured in 35 points in a valiant effort. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, but it wasn’t enough.
The Cavaliers, who swept the Miami Heat in the first round and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, struggled mightily against Indiana’s speed. Cleveland lost all three of its home games in the series — a first for the franchise in postseason history.
“This place is special. What hurts is that we didn’t get it done at home,” Mitchell said. “We let the city down.”
Cleveland shot just
38.9% from the field and went 9-of-35 from three-point range, with Mitchell and Darius Garland combining to shoot 12-of-41 overall and 4-of-19 from deep.
Haliburton Heats Up in Second Quarter
The turning point came midway through the second quarter when Indiana was down 44-25. Haliburton caught fire, sinking five of his six three-pointers in the period to trim the deficit to just 56-52 at halftime.
“We didn't panic after that rough start. We knew they were going to throw a haymaker, but we weathered the storm the right way,” Haliburton said postgame.
From there, the Pacers outscored Cleveland 63-49 in the second half and sealed the game by scoring eight of the final 10 points following a late Mitchell three-pointer.
Looking Ahead: Pacers Await Celtics or Knicks
The Pacers will now await the winner of the other Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. The Knicks currently lead the series 3-1 with Game 5 set for Wednesday night in Boston.
Indiana’s Game 5 win also marked the franchise’s first playoff series with three road wins since 2005. Carlisle credited his team’s underdog mentality as a major motivator.
“We were not favored in one game. The lowest spread was 5½ points,” Carlisle said. “That fueled us.”
