The Indiana Pacers fought back from a 19-point, second-quarter deficit to eliminate the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA playoffs and reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year.

The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the NBA regular season, but when the playoffs came around, their shooting disappeared, and they didn’t have enough to overcome

Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.

This is not how anyone—especially those inside the Cleveland Cavaliers organization—foresaw the season ending before the middle of May. Even the most optimistic Indiana Pacers fan likely couldn’t have dreamed of a scenario where they’d dismantle the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.

The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western Conference semifinals. The No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers kicked off the East semis by taking a 2-0 lead over the No.

The Cleveland Cavaliers' season is hanging in the balance, as they are down 3-1 in their second-round NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers with Game 5

The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs continued this weekend, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics emerging victorious in Game 3s. The Wolves and Nuggets now hold 2-1 leads in their series, while the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are the ones up 2-1 in their respective matchups.