Indiana clobbers Cleveland, takes 3-1 series lead

INDIANA Pacers banked on a scorching first half shooting en route to a 129-109 rout of Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Gainbridge FieldHouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Pascal Siakam spearheaded the offense with 21 points while Myles Turner and Obi Toppin each added 20 markers as the fourth-seeded Pacers hold a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Cavaliers in the best-of-seven series. 

Ben Sheppard scored 14 points, T.J. McConnell added 13 and Aaron Nesmith had 12 for the Pacers, which lost the services of Bennedict Mathurin due to flagrant two foul in the first half.

The Pacers connected on five of their first six attempts from three-point range to seize a 33-14 lead early in the first quarter before they widened it to 48-23 on triples by Siakam.

Turner sank a trio of 3-pointers during the final two minutes of the second quarter and Nesmith made a basket at the buzzer to stake Indiana to an 80-39 lead at halftime.

Darius Garland scored 21 points for the Cavaliers, while Donovan Mitchell added 12 markers, on 3-of-11 field goal shooting before sitting out the second half with a left ankle injury. 

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from eight down in the fourth quarter to beat the Denver Nuggets 92-87 in Game 4 at tie their Western Conference semifinal series.

Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace scored 11 each, Alex Caruso and Jaylen Williams scored 10 apiece, Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds and Chet Holmgren grabbed 13 boards for the Thunder.

“Kind of lost our way defensively, especially in the third, but did a great job of course-correcting to start the fourth,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “That group to start the fourth was huge to give us a lead, and then the defense down the stretch was really, really good.”

Nikola Jokic finished with a double-double of 27 points and 13 rebounds, Christian Braun and Jamal Murray had 17 points each and Aaron Gordon finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets./PN

BOX SCORE:

INDIANA 129 — Siakam 21, Turner 20, Toppin 20, Sheppard 14, McConnell 13, Nesmith 12, Halliburton 11, Nembhard 7, Bryant 5, Walker 4, Johnson 2, Mathurin 0, Furphy 0, Bradley 0.

CLEVELAND 109 — Garland 21, Okoro 13, Mitchell 12, Strus 11, Tyson 11, Mobley 10, Jerome 7, Hunter 5, Porter 4, Wade 3, Thompson 3, Okeke 3, Allen 2, Merrill 2, Green 2. 

Quarterscores: 38-23; 80-39; 109-77; 129-109.