Game ID: 42400202
Indiana Pacers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 32 29 37 21 119IND 15 35 34 36 120
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 4/23 · 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 4/25 · 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
IND availability going into 5/21 · 7 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 86 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 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.
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 119-120 — CLE notes
CLE lost 119-120. CLE shot 43% (39 of 90) to IND's 52%, 11 of 39 from three, and went to the line 35 times to IND's 29 — 30 points from the stripe to their 21. Mitchell led with 48 (15 of 30, 1 of 7 from three, 17 of 21 at the line); Strus added 23, Allen 22. Q1 was theirs, 32-15, but the other 3 periods went 105-87 against them. They led by as many as 20.
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.
4/25 @ 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 120-119 — IND notes
IND won 120-119. IND shot 52% (44 of 85) to CLE's 43%, 11 of 28 from three, and got to the line 29 times to CLE's 35. Turner led with 23 (8 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Nesmith added 23, Haliburton 19. The hinge was Q4, 36-21: IND came in trailing by 14 and left it ahead by 1. IND trailed 50-61 at the half and won the second half 70-58. Turner was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
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.
5/21 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 4 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Siakam at 18 and Haliburton at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (86 straight). 7 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 42 percent from three to New York's 33 and the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-4. Call it New York 113, Indiana 112, Indiana keeping it close.
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
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
JG J. Green
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
Haliburton's 3 with 1.1 seconds left gives Pacers 120-119 stunning win over Cavs and 2-0 series lead
CLEVELAND -- — Tyrese Haliburton said he knows he's trusted to deliver in big moments.
In three straight playoff games, the Indiana Pacers guard has delivered when it has mattered most.
Haliburton made a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining as the Pacers scored the final eight points in 47.9 seconds to stun the short-handed and top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 120-119 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Haliburton scored 11 of his 19 points in the final 12 minutes. After Andrew Nembhard stole an inbounds pass by Cleveland's Max Strus with 27.5 seconds remaining, Indiana tried to find a potential tying 3-pointer before Haliburton drove inside and got fouled.
He made the first free throw, but missed the second. Haliburton got the offensive rebound and dribbled out to the 3-point line, where he made it from the top of the key.
“I was (ticked) I missed the layup because I couldn’t hang onto the ball, so I backed it out. I just saw Ty Jerome , top of the key and knocked it down," Haliburton said. “It’s the NBA, crazier things have happened. That’s just what basketball is. We don’t give up and we’re battle tested. We just find a way.”
After making a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to help the Pacers eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks , Haliburton has continued to hit key shots against the Cavaliers.
He scored 22 points in Sunday's 121-112 victory in the series opener, including a go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter.
“Obviously, we got lucky. Ty hit another amazing shot to win the game," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "You don’t see this very often, let alone twice in one week. Tyrese, he came through again. We’re very fortunate.”
Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith led No. 4 seed Indiana with 23 points apiece. It's the first time the Pacers have won the first two games of a playoff series on the road since a 1994 first-round set against Orlando.
Game 3 is Friday night in Indianapolis.
Donovan Mitchell scored 48 points for Cleveland, who were missing three key players, including two starters. NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (left ankle) and key reserve De’Andre Hunter (right thumb) were injured in Game 1, while Darius Garland (left big toe) missed his fourth straight postseason game.
“I feel like we outplayed them for the majority of the game and then towards the end we had our mental lapses. They capitalized on every single mistake that we made,” said Jarrett Allen , who had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Mitchell scored 15 points in the third quarter as the Cavaliers built a 98-81 lead late in the period. But the Pacers rallied with a 17-6 run to get back in it.
Cleveland looked as though it got some breathing room with 1:06 remaining when Max Strus hit a 3-pointer off an assist by Mitchell to put them up 117-110.
But the Cavs couldn't hold on again as they committed two turnovers and the Pacers had a pair of offensive rebounds that led to points in the final minute. It's the first time Cleveland dropped its first two at home in the playoffs since 1996 in the first round against the Knicks.
“It’s hard to put all this in words," Carlisle said. "Cleveland hit us with a hellacious punch early in the game. In the fourth, we just hung on. We maintained enough energy to get it done. Give the guys credit, they somehow found a way.”