The Indiana Pacers took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a commanding 129-109 win over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinal on Sunday. Meanwhile in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder knocked off the Denver Nuggets 92-87 to even the series 2-2.
It was a rough night for the Cavs, especially with the loss of star guard Donovan Mitchell at halftime to a left ankle injury. He did not re-enter the contest, exiting with 12 points, and is set to have an MRI on Monday.
Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin was ejected for pushing De’Andre Hunter to the ground in the first quarter. As the Pacers were attempting to inbound the ball, Mathurin appeared to punch Hunter, who was guarding him. Hunter doubled over, then walked toward Mathurin, who had his arms spread wide open, pointed in Mathurin’s face and then two-hand shoved him to the court.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 21 points. Obi Toppin and Myles Turner added 20 points each. For the Cavs, Darius Garland put up 21 points and Isaac Okoro had 13.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Cleveland.
Earlier on Sunday, the Nuggets started poorly against the Thunder, and their finish was even worse.
Denver scored only eight points in the first quarter as the Thunder built a 17-8 lead. The Nuggets rallied back with two strong quarters to take a 69-63 lead, but then the offense went dry in the fourth. Mistakes were made, including a five-second violation coming out of a timeout, and Denver was outscored by 11 points in the final period.
Nikola Jokić led the way for Denver with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced Oklahoma City with 25 points.
The series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Pacers 129, Cavaliers 109
(Indiana leads 3-1)
An offensive explosion in Indianapolis
Pacers guard Ben Sheppard pulled up for a fadeaway 3 from the right wing with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. The shot was way off … and then it banked in. Sheppard’s lucky 3-pointer encapsulated a night in which — sans Mathurin’s ejection — his team could do no wrong. Indiana’s 129 points fell just one point shy of tying the franchise’s record for most points scored in a playoff game.
After Indiana had no answers for the Cavs’ 3-2 zone in Game 3, the Pacers looked like they had a cheat sheet in Game 4. Indiana scored on its first four possessions against the Cavs’ zone, starting with a 3-pointer by Siakam that gave his team an early 8-5 lead. The Pacers followed that up with a corner 3 from Toppin, another corner 3-pointer from Thomas Bryant and a layup by Toppin with eight minutes left in the second quarter that put Indiana ahead 50-26.
The Pacers generated several open shots by screening the top of the Cavs’ 3-2 zone, which was where Cleveland star and 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley had previously stymied Indiana’s offense, and zipped the ball across the court to keep Cleveland scrambling. Indiana’s shift in offensive process was parlayed into an avalanche the Cavaliers were never able recover from.
The Pacers drilled 12 of their 18 3-point attempts in the first half and their 41-point lead at the break is tied for the largest halftime lead in NBA postseason history, per ESPN. — James Boyd, Indiana sports writer
Donovan Mitchell’s mysterious injury, and every part of the Cavs’ collapse, matters
Mitchell somehow hurt his ankle at halftime of this abomination.
I really don’t know how yet, and I myself didn’t even see the injury live, but at halftime with the Cavs down by 41, Mitchell took the court to warm up, and a cell phone camera caught him doubled over with assistant coach Johnny Bryant coming to check on him.
The picture was posted to X with a caption that said Mitchell was going back to the locker room. He was not on the court for the start of the second half, and with about five minutes left in the period, the Cavs finally said he sustained a left ankle injury and was “doubtful” to return. Remember, he was dealing with a calf strain that was downplayed to the point of him not appearing on the injury report. So, among other things, we’ll see if this is an ankle injury or actually something to do with his calf strain.
I was going to say “nothing else that happened on Sunday matters,” but that’s not right. It does matter how poorly the Cavs played — how unprepared, overmatched, timid and weak they looked. It matters that they lost and now trail the Pacers 3-1 in this series, and face another elimination from the playoffs in the second round. This time, as the higher seed.
It matters that Indiana set out to take Cleveland’s rebounding away and did so with ease. It matters that the Cavs’ 3-2 zone from Game 3 was totally ineffective, and it matters that at halftime Cleveland had 14 turnovers and eight baskets. I could go on and on, but you get to the point whether you watched or were lucky enough not to.
This game was so lopsided, the Cavs so inept, analyzing it is a waste of my time and frankly this team already did that to anyone who tuned in to watch on Sunday. (As an aside, kudos to De’Andre Hunter for retaliating on that cheap shot punch Bennedict Mathurin landed to Hunter’s chest in the first quarter. The only sign of life showed by the Cavs all night).
It all “matters” insofar as the Cavs are on the verge of a playoff collapse. As far as what can be done about it, though, Mitchell’s health is what counts. His season ended last year with him in street clothes with a strained calf, and the Cavs losing in five games to Boston.
Is the same general thing about to happen again? — Joe Vardon, NBA senior writer
Haliburton, Siakam and Toppin step up for Pacers
After scoring a total of four points on 2-of-8 shooting, five assists, three turnovers and zero rebounds for a quiet Game 3, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton dunked the ball on Indiana’s first possession of the game and the team never looked back from there. Haliburton finished with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes due to the blowout and Indiana was able to annihilate the Cavs’ top-10 defense with Haliburton mostly rebounding and passing.
Siakam had 17 points with four rebounds and three assists in Game 3, but his presence was felt a bit more Sunday night. Indiana got the ball to Siakam and Toppin against smaller defenders, which was key to the Pacers breaking the 3-2 defensive zone from Cleveland. Siakam scored eight straight points to start the second quarter, finishing with 21 points and six rebounds. Toppin, who provided a major spark off the bench, added 20 points and five rebounds. — Shakeia Taylor, NBA staff writer
Indiana fixes turnover, rebound issues
Turnovers and rebounds have been an issue for the Pacers all series. In Game 3, they had 13 turnovers (16 points conceded) and a 56-37 rebound deficit. In the Game 4 rout, Indiana held onto the ball a bit more, this time finishing with seven turnovers through three quarters. Three more came in garbage time after the game was decided.
Indiana was also much more active on the glass with 37 rebounds to Cleveland’s 41. — Taylor
Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
(Series tied 2-2)
Thunder rule in crunchtime
For the first time in this series, the Nuggets were not the better team coming down the stretch. Denver was 10-of-25 shooting in the paint and 3-of-11 in second-chance situations. The Nuggets built an eight-point lead, but they weren’t able to close in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we got worn down a little bit in the fourth quarter,” Denver interim head coach David Adelman said.
Denver certainly looked like the more tired team down the stretch, but the lack of execution hurt its chances of taking a 3-1 series lead. Jokić missed two big free throws down the stretch. Aaron Gordon missed one more. The Nuggets, down four points, turned the ball over on a five-second violation. It was Denver’s mistakes in the last five minutes that went a long way towards this series being tied at 2-2.
Neither Jokić nor OKC star Gilgeous-Alexander was particularly great in Game 4. But the Thunder made the plays needed in a fourth quarter where their season was effectively on the line, and the Nuggets struggled to make those same plays. — Tony Jones, NBA staff writer
OKC handles quick turnaround with ease
With less than 36 hours between Games 3 and 4, the question of rest versus rhythm arose, but the Thunder have consistently proven to be elite at handling quick turnaround times. According to Cleaning the Glass, in situations where both teams are operating with a day of rest, Oklahoma City’s plus-16.7 point differential is leaps and bounds away from the rest of the league. For context, the Nuggets are a plus-3.2
The first quarter of Game 4 was the biggest indication of the Thunder’s viability in less than advantageous circumstances. A combination of bad Denver offense and good Oklahoma City defense resulted in 20 missed field goals and a 17-8 lead. Sunday afternoon was a sloppy game of basketball overall, featuring 16 combined turnovers in the first half and two teams that labored to generate efficient consecutive possessions.
Credit to Mark Daigenault’s group that began the fourth quarter — Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein — that settled the game and gave the Thunder a much-needed lift. That pairing has been a huge lift for Oklahoma City during the postseason, posting a plus-47.9 net rating — and Wiggins and Wallace hit a combined six 3s in Game 4.
Overall, the Thunder’s perseverance — Gilgeous-Alexander doing a better job with Denver’s aggressive defensive scheme and a commitment to pressuring Jamal Murray at the other end — paid off, winning their biggest game of the season and swinging momentum back in their favor. — Kelly Iko, NBA staff writer
Westbrook gives, and Westbrook takes away
Russell Westbrook has been huge for the Nuggets in the playoffs. He swung some games with his energy. He was one of the most important players in Game 7 of their first-round series against the LA Clippers with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in 27 minutes. For a team with so little depth, Westbrook has been essential.
As he has become a role player later in his career, though, Westbrook has been an awkward fit at times. As he is not a shooter, he shrinks the court around stars. His utility is minimized if he doesn’t have the ball, although he has been better as a screener this year. Given that, his success in Denver has been a pleasant surprise.
As the Nuggets surrendered the lead with Jokić off the floor on Sunday afternoon, Westbrook’s flaws were obvious. He airballed an open corner 3 that the Thunder dared him to take. He went 2-for-12 for the game from the field. He also took three fouls in the first six-plus minutes of the fourth, including one when he gambled for a steal, missed, hitting Gilgeous-Alexander. That contributed to putting the Thunder, struggling offensively, into the bonus with 6:30 left in the quarter. The Nuggets lost his 27 minutes by 20 points.
This is the duality of Westbrook. His energy can sustain the Nuggets, but his weaknesses can be devastating, too. With Michael Porter Jr. struggling badly in the Denver starting lineup, the Nuggets can’t abide by the trick-or-treat version of Westbrook. Then again, they don’t have much of a choice. — Eric Koreen, NBA senior writer
(Top photo of Myles Smith: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
