The big pay back. One team played with a sense of desperation, with everything on the line, while the other played casually. The Cleveland Cavaliers, with all their horses healthy, took care of business on the road in the third game of the series, a matchup which was a virtual must-win scenario for the visitors.
Not falling into a 3-0 hole helps the momentum swing slightly to their side and provides a realistic chance of moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals against either the Boston Celtics or the New York Knicks. The Cavaliers did much more than go into Indianapolis and claim a victory. They steamrolled the home team to send a message Friday evening.
The Cavaliers were led by their All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who exploded and scored a game-high 43 points on 14-29 from the field, pulling down nine rebounds, and entering LeBron James territory with the performance. The Cavaliers used a consistent offensive attack, scoring between 29 and 34 points per quarter to pull ahead. The Pacers were consistent in some sense themselves, scoring 25 or more in three quarters. However, it was the second quarter that ultimately did them in.
With the home fans on their feet, expecting their beloved Indiana Pacers to cut what had been a 24-point deficit to single digits like they had done in Games 1 and 2, Mitchell did what great players do, and took the game into his own hands. He hit a 13-foot fadeaway, then a pull-up 3-pointer and finally found Max Strus for another 3 and the Cavaliers went on to a sound 126-104 victory.
“I couldn’t let it happen again, and it wasn’t just me,” Mitchell said, cutting their semifinal series deficit to 2-1. “I know I scored, but like, we got stops, made plays. But for me, just trying to be the aggressor.”
The Cavs also reverted more to their regular-season form by drilling 14 3-pointers, holding a 56-37 edge on the glass, even imploring zone defense to slow down the high-flying Pacers.
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But it was Mitchell’s finishing punch that made the difference.
“The first one was a selfish shot, but he needed to be selfish there — you know what I’m saying,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He just felt like ‘I need it, I need to score this one even if it’s not the perfect shot.’ And that’s kind of feel of the moment.”
The Pacers scored 13 points in the second quarter, tying a season-low mark that was set against another Central Division rival, Milwaukee Bucks in their first-round playoff series. The Cavaliers smothering defense certainly played a huge role in that as well.
The former six-overall pick, Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 points off the bench. Pascal Siakam scored 18 and Tyrese Haliburton finished with four points and five assists, his first career home loss in a postseason game he has played in.
“This was a very poor effort at the beginning of the game, through so many parts of the game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Clearly, I didn’t have these guys ready for this. Ty had a rough game. I have to do more to get him in better positions to have better shots.”
Despite having struggled to come out on top in the first two games at home, the Cavaliers have been an ultra-consistent side in the series, scoring at least 21 in every quarter and at least 25 in all but one. If that trend continues, expect them to be able to not only win a few more games but also advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The most physical game of the three resulted in players routinely hitting the floor. Hunter turned into a hard shoulder after making a basket early in the second quarter, a collision that nearly knocked him down, and Mitchell took a nasty spill into the front-row seats.
Tempers also flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls. On the court, though, Cleveland controlled the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 extended run, which gave them a 66-45 halftime cushion.
The Cavaliers will continue on the road for the fourth game of the series. That will tip off at 8 p.m. ET on TNT Sunday evening.
