No 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers on the brink of NBA playoff heartbreak as Pacers shine in history-making win

The Indiana Pacers are 1 crippled distant from knocking retired the No 1 effect Cleveland Cavaliers aft a record-breaking triumph successful Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals connected Sunday night. 

Pascal Siakam scored 21 points and the Pacers tied an NBA playoff grounds by taking a 41-point halftime lead, earlier seeing retired the crippled 129-109 for a 3-1 bid lead.

The Pacers tin gain a 2nd consecutive travel to the East finals with a triumph Tuesday successful Cleveland, wherever they won the archetypal 2 games.

Among the large names watching the enactment was different Indiana sporting superstar successful Caitlin Clark, taking immoderate clip retired from the WNBA's Fever to ticker her antheral counterparts successful action.

She cheered arsenic Indiana jumped to an 80-39 pb astatine halftime and led by 44 points. The 41-point pb matched the borderline Cleveland acceptable successful Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar.

And Indiana did it mostly without Bennedict Mathurin, 1 of its apical playoff scorers, who was ejected conscionable seven-and-a-half minutes into the crippled for a flagrant foul.

Darius Garland led the Cavs with 21 points and Donovan Mitchell had 17 points contempt not playing successful the 2nd fractional due to the fact that of a near ankle injury. Coach Kenny Atkinson said his All-Star defender would person an MRI exam Monday.

For the Pacers, it was a redeeming infinitesimal successful beforehand of a towel-waving location assemblage conscionable 2 days aft an embarrassing 22-point nonaccomplishment connected its location court. The Cavs dominated the glass, held two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton to 4 points and 5 assists and fought harder than Indiana.

This time, the Pacers near nary uncertainty astir who would beryllium the aggressor.

Indiana took power rapidly with aboriginal runs of 11-2 and 13-0 to physique a commanding 48-23 pb with 9:24 near successful the archetypal half. They didn't halt - oregon backmost down - there, either, closing the fractional connected a 19-2 run.

Aaron Nesmith's buzzer-beating midrange jumper enactment the Pacers successful different exclusive nine - the 10th squad successful playoff past and 2nd this week to people 80 points successful the archetypal fractional of a playoff game. 

Oklahoma City scored 87 points successful Game 2 against Denver.

Myles Turner made each 4 of his 3-point attempts and scored 20 points, arsenic did Obi Toppin.