Pascal Siakam scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers tied the NBA playoff record by routing top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday 129-109 to a 41-point half-time lead before taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The Pacers were able to win their second consecutive trip to the East Finals in Tuesday’s victory in Cleveland, where they won their first two games.
Indiana jumped to an 80-39 lead at halftime, leading to a 44-point lead. According to Sportradar, the 41-point lead coincided with the Cleveland set in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.
And Indiana did it mostly without Benedict Matlin, one of its top playoff scorers.
Darius Garland led the Cavs with 21 points, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 17 points despite not playing in the second half due to a left ankle injury. Coach Kenny Atkinson said his All-Star security guard will take the MRI exam on Monday.
For the Pacers, it was a reded moment in front of a crowd of homes who waved their towels just two days after an embarrassing 22-point loss on the home court. The Cavs dominated Glass, holding two All-Star Tyreece Halliburton to four points and five assists, fighting harder than Indiana.
This time, the Pacers had no doubts about who would become the invader.
Indiana quickly took control with early runs 11-2 and 13-0, taking a 48-23 lead with 9:24 left in the first half. They didn’t stop or go back. He also closed the half with a 19-2 run.
Aaron Nesmith’s buzzing midrange jumper put the Pacers in another exclusive club. He is the 10th team in playoff history and the second team this week to score 80 points in the first half of the playoff game. Oklahoma City scored 87 points against Denver in Game 2.
Miles Turner made all four of his three-point attempts and scored 20 points, similar to Obi Toppin.
Report by Associated Press.
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