The Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pacers have now gone to back-to-back conference finals after eliminating the first seed, Cleveland. Tyreese Haliburton scored a team-high 31 points on 10 of 15 shooting, which included 5 three-pointers. Pascal Siakam added 21 points on 8 of 20 shooting. Nesmith scored 13 points in the win.
It was a disappointing outing for the number one seed Cavs as they failed to win at home in an elimination game. Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points on 8 of 25 shooting while knocking down 4 three-pointers. Evan Mobley scored 24 points on an efficient 8 of 12 from the floor. Darius Garland scored just 11 points on 4 of 16 shooting.
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle admitted they have to stick to their game plan. “The league is wide open this year. There are a lot of great teams, but it’s wide open. We’ve just got to keep believing. We’ve got a great group of guys who have committed to one another. We have a formula that works for us when we are really steadfast about sticking to it.” He said.
