Game ID: 42400204
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Indiana Pacers
Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 38 42 29 20 129CLE 23 16 38 32 109
CLE @ IND ScoutingCLE @ 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.
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
IND availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 87 since 11/04, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 88 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
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)
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.
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 104-126 — IND notes
IND lost 104-126. IND shot 44% (35 of 80) to CLE's 42%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 37-56 against them. Mathurin led with 23 (6 of 11, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Siakam added 18, Turner 15. Q3 was theirs, 34-31, the deficit cut from 21 to 18, but the other 3 periods went 95-70 against them. Nembhard's -32 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 vs CLE 129-109 — IND notes
IND won 129-109. IND shot 53% (49 of 93) to CLE's 43%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CLE's 40. IND turned it over 10 times to CLE's 22. Siakam led with 21 (9 of 10); Turner added 20, Toppin 20. The hinge was Q2, 42-16: a lead of 15 became 41, and the lead reached 44. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
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.
5/23 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (87 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 39 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it New York 117, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 vs NYK — 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 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (88 straight), Walker (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Achiuwa (2 straight), Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
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 126-104 — CLE notes
CLE won 126-104. CLE shot 42% (42 of 100) to IND's 44%, 14 of 47 from three. The glass went 56-37 for them. Mitchell led with 43 (14 of 29, 5 of 13 from three, 10 of 14 at the line); Strus added 20, Allen 19. The hinge was Q2, 34-13: from level to 21 ahead, and the lead reached 26. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +38.
5/11 @ IND 109-129 — CLE notes
CLE lost 109-129. CLE shot 43% (30 of 70) to IND's 53%, 14 of 35 from three, and went to the line 40 times to IND's 20 — 35 points from the stripe to their 16. CLE turned it over 22 times to IND's 10. Garland led with 21 (6 of 11, 1 of 5 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Okoro added 13, Mitchell 12. Q4 was theirs, 32-20, the deficit cut from 32 to 20, but the other 3 periods went 109-77 against them. Mitchell's -35 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECO C. Okeke
CP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
IO I. Okoro
JA J. Allen
JG J. Green
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
TT T. Thompson
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
JF J. Furphy
JJ J. Johnson
JW J. Walker
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TB T. Bradley
TB T. Bryant
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
CLE/IND 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
Pacers build 41-point halftime lead and rout Cavaliers 129-109 for a 3-1 series lead
INDIANAPOLIS -- — The Indiana Pacers spent two days looking for solutions against top-seeded Cleveland.
On Sunday, they delivered an emphatic answer.
Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, Myles Turner and Obi Toppin each scored 20 and the Pacers tied an NBA playoff record with a 41-point halftime lead before blowing out the Cavs 129-109 to take a 3-1 series lead.
The No. 4-seeded Pacers can close it out Tuesday in Cleveland, where they’ve already won twice.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” coach Rick Carlisle said after earning his 33rd playoff win with Indiana, passing Larry Bird for the most in the franchise’s NBA history. “We’re going to keep approaching this like we have everything to prove. We know people don’t believe in us, so we’re just going to stay in the fight and keep fighting.”
The Pacers certainly showed some resolve two days after an embarrassing 22-point loss on their home court, a game in which Cleveland dominated the glass and held two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton to four points and five assists.
This time, the towel-waving home crowd helped spur Indiana, right from the start of a physical, sometimes chippy game.
The Pacers built a 44-point lead before settling for an 80-39 halftime margin that matched the league’s previous best since detailed play-by-play was kept, set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals against Boston.
Indiana did much of its damage without Bennedict Mathurin , one of its best scorers, who was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul just 7 1/2 minutes into the game. And with Donovan Mitchell missing the second half because of an injured left ankle, the Cavs had no chance.
Darius Garland led the Cavs with 21 points in his second game back from an injured toe. Mitchell finished with 12. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Mitchell would have an MRI exam Monday.
“Complete domination by them,” Atkinson said briefly, before explaining at least the Cavs have two of the final three games on their home court. “They dominated us in every facet of the game.”
Indiana wasted no time taking control quickly with early runs of 11-2 and 13-0 to build a commanding 48-23 lead with 9:24 left in the first half. They didn’t stop — or back down — there, either, closing the half on a 19-2 run
Aaron Nesmith’s buzzer-beating midrange jumper put the Pacers in another exclusive club — the 10th team in playoff history and second this week to score 80 points in the first half of a playoff game. Oklahoma City scored 87 points in Game 2 against Denver.
Turner made all four of his 3-point attempts with Indianapolis 500 winners Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, WNBA Rookies of the Year Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, and former NFL star Reggie Wayne in the crowd.
“We felt the last game, they set the tone from a physical standpoint,” Haliburton said after finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists. “Today, we came out and set the tone from the jump, really just rode that wave.”