Game ID: 42400201
Indiana Pacers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Sunday, May 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 25 33 32 22 112IND 36 28 28 29 121
CLE vs IND ScoutingCLE vs IND Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 4/20 · 6 days' restOUT Mitchell missed 4 since 4/08, returns tonight: 33 min (106% of 32)
OUT Hunter missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 16 min (65% of 25)
OUT Jerome missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 26 min (132% of 20)
OUT Merrill missed 2 since 4/11, returns tonight: 24 min (121% of 20)
BACK Wade back 4/06 after 2, 20 min since (98% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/13 after 5, 47 min since (369% of 13)
NEW Okoro 18 to 24 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' restBACK Mitchell back 4/20 after 4, 33 min since (106% of 32)
BACK Hunter back 4/20 after 2, 16 min since (65% of 25)
BACK Jerome back 4/20 after 2, 26 min since (132% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 2, 24 min since (121% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/13 after 5, 47 min since (369% of 13)
CLE availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restBACK Mitchell back 4/20 after 4, 34 min since (109% of 32)
BACK Hunter back 4/20 after 2, 20 min since (80% of 25)
BACK Jerome back 4/20 after 2, 25 min since (124% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 2, 22 min since (110% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/13 after 5, 47 min since (369% of 13)
CLE availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restBACK Mitchell back 4/20 after 4, 33 min since (105% of 32)
BACK Hunter back 4/20 after 2, 23 min since (92% of 25)
BACK Jerome back 4/20 after 2, 24 min since (119% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 2, 21 min since (106% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/13 after 5, 47 min since (369% of 13)
CLE availability going into 5/04 · 5 days' restOUT Garland missed 2 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 4/20 after 4, 31 min since (98% of 32)
BACK Hunter back 4/20 after 2, 22 min since (90% of 25)
BACK Jerome back 4/20 after 2, 23 min since (115% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 2, 20 min since (103% of 20)
BACK Tomlin back 4/13 after 5, 47 min since (369% of 13)
CLE availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restOUT Garland missed 3 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Mitchell back 4/20 after 4, 31 min since (100% of 32)
BACK Hunter back 4/20 after 2, 24 min since (97% of 25)
BACK Jerome back 4/20 after 2, 24 min since (121% of 20)
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 2, 20 min since (101% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/09 · 2 days' restOUT Garland missed 4 since 4/26, returns tonight: 25 min (81% of 31)
CLE availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restBACK Garland back 5/09 after 4, 25 min since (81% of 31)
NEW Strus 26 to 31 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restBACK Garland back 5/09 after 4, 26 min since (85% of 31)
IND availability going into 4/22 · 2 days' restOUT Sheppard missed 6 since 4/06, out tonight
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 77 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 4/19 after 2, 34 min since (102% of 34)
BACK Siakam back 4/19 after 2, 33 min since (100% of 33)
BACK Que. Jackson back 4/11 after 6, 30 min since (219% of 14)
NEW Walker 15 to 20 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Sheppard missed 7 since 4/06, returns tonight: 15 min (85% of 18)
OUT Isa. Jackson missed 78 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 4/19 after 2, 35 min since (103% of 34)
BACK Siakam back 4/19 after 2, 34 min since (102% of 33)
BACK Que. Jackson back 4/11 after 6, 30 min since (219% of 14)
NEW Walker 15 to 22 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/27 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 79 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 4/19 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Siakam back 4/19 after 2, 33 min since (100% of 33)
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 15 min since (85% of 18)
BACK Que. Jackson back 4/11 after 6, 30 min since (219% of 14)
IND availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 80 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 4/19 after 2, 34 min since (100% of 34)
BACK Siakam back 4/19 after 2, 32 min since (97% of 33)
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 18 min since (102% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/04 · 4 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 81 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Haliburton back 4/19 after 2, 35 min since (105% of 34)
BACK Siakam back 4/19 after 2, 34 min since (103% of 33)
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 14 min since (80% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 82 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 13 min since (70% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/09 · 2 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 83 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 11 min since (63% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 84 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 85 since 11/04, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 102, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 21 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Jerome at 16 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Garland (2 straight). 5 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Siakam at 20 and Haliburton at 18 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (81 straight). 4 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-6 a night and Indiana minus-2 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 102 a night to Indiana's 110. Call it Cleveland 119, Indiana 111.
4/20 vs MIA 121-100 — CLE notes
CLE won 121-100. CLE shot 51% (45 of 88) to MIA's 49%, 18 of 43 from three. CLE turned it over 7 times to MIA's 14. Mitchell led with 30 (11 of 19, 2 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Jerome added 28, Garland 27. The hinge was Q4, 34-21: a lead of 8 became 21. Strus was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/23 vs MIA 121-112 — CLE notes
CLE won 121-112. CLE shot 48% (39 of 82) to MIA's 52%, 22 of 45 from three, and went to the line 23 times to MIA's 16 — 21 points from the stripe to their 12. CLE turned it over 8 times to MIA's 13. Mitchell led with 30 (10 of 21, 7 of 10 from three); Garland added 21, Mobley 20. The hinge was Q2, 43-27: a lead of 1 became 17. Hunter was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
4/26 @ MIA 124-87 — CLE notes
CLE won 124-87. CLE shot 53% (46 of 86) to MIA's 42%, 15 of 40 from three, and went to the line 20 times to MIA's 10 — 17 points from the stripe to their 7. CLE turned it over 9 times to MIA's 16. The glass went 46-29 for them. Allen led with 22 (8 of 9, 6 of 6 at the line); Hunter added 21, Mobley 19. The hinge was Q1, 33-20: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 40. Hunter was the night's best plus/minus at +34.
4/28 @ MIA 138-83 — CLE notes
CLE won 138-83. CLE shot 55% (47 of 86) to MIA's 36%, 22 of 47 from three, and went to the line 25 times to MIA's 15 — 22 points from the stripe to their 9. CLE turned it over 11 times to MIA's 19. D. Mitchell led with 22 (8 of 15, 4 of 8 from three); Hunter added 19, Jerome 18. The hinge was Q1, 43-17: from level to 26 ahead, and the lead reached 60. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +42.
5/04 vs IND 112-121 — CLE notes
CLE lost 112-121. CLE took 15 more shots (98 to 83), fed by 13 offensive rebounds, but shot 46% to IND's 53%, 9 of 38 from three. CLE turned it over 7 times to IND's 16. Mitchell led with 33 (13 of 30, 1 of 11 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Jerome added 21, Mobley 20. Q2 was theirs, 33-28, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 93-79 against them. Mobley's -20 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/06 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 101, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Jerome at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (3 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 20 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (82 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Indiana's 113 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Cleveland 120, Indiana 110, Cleveland by 10.
5/09 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Haliburton at 20 and Nesmith at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (83 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Mobley at 19 a game. Without Garland (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 105 a night to Indiana's 114 and the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 14 times a game to Cleveland's 10. Call it Cleveland 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/11 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Haliburton at 18 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (84 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 103, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Mobley at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 103 a night to Indiana's 116. Call it Cleveland 118, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/13 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 31 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Mobley at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Turner at 18 and Haliburton at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (85 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-6 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Cleveland 120, Indiana 113.
4/22 vs MIL 123-115 — IND notes
IND won 123-115. IND shot 49% (44 of 90) to MIL's 51%, 16 of 36 from three. IND turned it over 8 times to MIL's 15. Siakam led with 24 (8 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Haliburton added 21, Nembhard 17. The hinge was Q1, 40-30: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 16. Nembhard was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
4/25 @ MIL 101-117 — IND notes
IND lost 101-117. IND shot 43% (39 of 90) to MIL's 47%, 13 of 41 from three, and got to the line 13 times to MIL's 22. Siakam led with 28 (12 of 19, 3 of 4 from three); Nesmith added 18, Haliburton 14. Q2 was theirs, 31-21, but the other 3 periods went 96-70 against them. They led by as many as 12. Haliburton's -23 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/27 @ MIL 129-103 — IND notes
IND won 129-103. IND shot 60% (50 of 83) to MIL's 42%, 18 of 39 from three. Turner led with 23 (9 of 13, 1 of 3 from three); Nembhard added 20, Haliburton 17. The hinge was Q4, 28-19: a lead of 17 became 26. Nesmith was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
4/29 vs MIL 119-118 — IND notes
IND won 119-118 in 1 overtime. IND shot 46% (43 of 93) to MIL's 46%, 12 of 33 from three. IND turned it over 12 times to MIL's 17. Haliburton led with 26 (10 of 22, 2 of 10 from three); Turner added 21, Nesmith 19. The hinge was Q2, 28-17: the deficit went from 17 to 6. IND trailed 41-47 at the half and won the second half 78-71.
5/04 @ CLE 121-112 — IND notes
IND won 121-112. IND shot 53% (44 of 83) to CLE's 46%, 19 of 36 from three. IND turned it over 16 times to CLE's 7, and CLE turned those into 8 steals. Nembhard led with 23 (7 of 10, 5 of 6 from three); Haliburton added 22, Siakam 17. The hinge was Q1, 36-25: from level to 11 ahead. Nembhard was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
5/06 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 101, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Jerome at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Garland (3 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 20 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (82 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 101 a night to Indiana's 113 and the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Cleveland 120, Indiana 110, Cleveland by 10.
5/09 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Haliburton at 20 and Nesmith at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Isa. Jackson (83 straight). 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Mobley at 19 a game. Without Garland (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 105 a night to Indiana's 114 and the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 14 times a game to Cleveland's 10. Call it Cleveland 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/11 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Turner at 19 and Haliburton at 18 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (84 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 103, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Mobley at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 103 a night to Indiana's 116. Call it Cleveland 118, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/13 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 31 free throws a game; Mitchell at 32 and Mobley at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Turner at 18 and Haliburton at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (85 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Cleveland has been plus-6 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it Cleveland 120, Indiana 113.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
JW J. Walker
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TB T. Bryant
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
CLEDH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
IND/CLE the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Tyrese Haliburton ignites closing run for Pacers, who stun Cavs 121-112 in Game 1 of East semis
CLEVELAND -- — Tyrese Haliburton hardly resembled the player whose peers have deemed him overrated.
The dynamic Indiana point guard scored 22 points — including a go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter — had 13 assists and made crucial defensive plays that propelled the Pacers to a 121-112 victory over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“We’re definitely the heavy underdog, but we’re trying to control what we can," said Haliburton, who was voted the NBA's most overrated player in a recent anonymous player survey by The Athletic. "It gives us a lot of momentum for sure, but this is the best team in our conference. They don’t lose much.”
About the only thing Haliburton didn't do well was shoot 3-pointers. On a night when the fourth-seeded Pacers were 19 of 36 from beyond the arc, Haliburton was 2 of 6. But the second one ended up being decisive.
The Cavs went ahead 102-101 on a free throw by Max Strus before Haliburton’s 3 ignited a 15-4 run.
Andrew Nembhard scored 23 points and made two of his five 3-pointers during the four-minute stretch when the Pacers pulled away.
“We had an exceptionally good shot-making night, but the key word is aggression. We’ve got to be in attack mode to beat this team," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.
All five Indiana starters scored in double figures. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam had 17 points apiece.
Haliburton's standout defensive plays included blocking a 3-point attempt by Strus with 2:12 left and converting it into a layup for a 10-point lead. His assists led to 34 points, including eight 3-pointers.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 33 points and broke Michael Jordan’s NBA playoff record with his eighth straight game of at least 30 points in a series opener.
Evan Mobley added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were without point guard Darius Garland for the third straight playoff game due to a sprained left big toe.
Besides struggling with Indiana’s pace, Cleveland was done in by poor 3-point shooting. The Cavs were second in the NBA during the regular season with 15.9 3s per game, but went 9 of 38. The 23.7% rate was their second-worst of the season.
“We missed a lot of good looks, and then when you miss shots, that’s when they get going in transition,” said Mitchell, who was 1 of 11 on 3-pointers. “The biggest thing is, when the shots aren’t falling, how do you respond? But when a team like this runs like that, it makes it tough.”
Cleveland rarely trailed in its first-round sweep of the Miami Heat that included a 55-point victory in Game 4.
Coach Kenny Atkinson was worried about Indiana's pace coming into the series. He's hoping his team can find ways to control the flow during Game 2 on Tuesday night.
“I don’t feel like we had the rhythm of the game. We have to move forward,” Atkinson said. “The positive is we got accustomed to how they were playing. We’ll figure out the 3-point shooting.”
Indiana had a 12-point lead in the third quarter before Cleveland rallied. The Cavs grabbed the lead in the fourth, but couldn't hang on and close it out.
“I thought we did a good job when that ‘Cavalanche’ was on the way. We did a great job of weathering that," Haliburton said.