The Indiana Pacers won 114-105 over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 on Tuesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals in consecutive years for the first time since 2013-14.
Pacers Make NBA Playoff History
According to Basketball Reference, Indiana is the first team since seeding began in 1984 to reach the conference finals in back-to-back years as a 4-seed or lower both times. The Pacers advanced last year as a 6-seed and were swept by the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.
“I have to give our guys credit; they earned this,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “This was one of the best teams in the league. I’m sorry their season had to end like this.
“They had the perfect season, and we came along and were hot at the right time. We were not favored in one game. The lowest point spread was 5.5. That was something that fueled our guys too.”
The Pacers are the first team to advance to the Conference Finals 🙌
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In addition, the Pacers won all three away games at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena. It was the first time since a 2005 first-round series against the Celtics that the Pacers won three road games in a playoff series.
In Game 5, Tyrese Haliburton recorded a team-high 31 points and six rebounds, while Pascal Siakam added 21. Andrew Nembhard also finished with 18 points, and Aaron Nesmith put up 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton Led Indiana’s 19-Point Comeback In Game 5
Although Indiana trailed 44-25 with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter, Haliburton went on to make five of his six 3-pointers in the frame as the Pacers got within 56-52 at halftime.
“We didn’t panic after that rough start to the first quarter. We talked about how we knew that they were going to throw a haymaker there,” Haliburton said. “But I thought we weathered the storm the right way and got going from there.”
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, who scored a game-high 35 points, drilled a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to get the Cavaliers within 106-103 with 1:27 remaining in the contest.
However, Indiana closed it out by scoring eight of the final 10 points.
“This first half was not good or fun,” Carlisle added. “We got things back on course in the second quarter, and then we just kept working the game and wearing them down.”
The Pacers will await the winner of the matchup between the No. 2 seed Celtics and the third-seeded New York Knicks. New York leads that series 3-1, with Game 5 on Wednesday night in Boston.
