INDIANA Pacers recovered from 19 points down to oust Cleveland Cavaliers, 114-105, in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points and dished out eight assists, while Pascal Siakam put up 21 points for fourth-seeded Indiana, which closed the best-of-seven series with a 4-1 record.
Andrew Nembhard finished with 18 points Aaron Nesmith collected 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Myles Turner had 10 points and four blocked shots for Indiana, which reach the East Finals for the second straight year.
After the Cavaliers went up 44-25 early in the second quarter, the Pacers outscored their opponent, 55-24, with Haliburton contributing 22 markers in the run to take an 80-68 lead with 1:50 remaining in the third.
Cleveland got as close as 98-97 with 5:03 left in the fourth on a Donovan Mitchell triple, but Indiana managed to create separation behind conversions from Nembhard, Haliburton, and Turner late in the game.
Mitchell posted 35 points and nine rebounds, Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds, and DeAndre Hunter and Darius Garland had 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the ousted top-seed Cavs.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder moved closer to the Western Conference Finals after a come-from-behind 112-105 victory over Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the conference semis.
Down 81-90 early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder rode on consecutive triples by Luguentz Dort to cut the deficit to 90-92 before they took a 103-100 lead via a three-point play by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
After the Nuggets tied the score at 103-all on a triple by Nikola Jokic, the Thunder banked on three-pointers from Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander for a 109-103 lead with under a minute left.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points, Williams added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, and Dort contributed 15, 14, 13, and 12 markers, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
INDIANA 114 — Halliburton 31, Siakam 21, Nembhard 18, Nesmith 13, Turner 10, Bryant 9, Toppin 5, Mathurin 4, Sheppard 3, McConnell 0, Walker 0.
CLEVELAND 105 — Mitchell 35, Mobley 24, Hunter 12, Garland 11, Allen 9, Jerome 8, Wade 4, Okoro 2, Strus 0.
Quarterscores: 19-31; 52-56; 85-76; 114-105.
