NBA: Pacers eliminate Cavaliers; Thunder take 3-2 lead on Nuggets

Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.

Donovan Mitchell, who missed the second half of Sunday’s game due to a sprained left ankle, led Cleveland with 35 points. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds.

The fourth-seeded Pacers will now await the winner of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. New York has a 3-1 advantage in the series with Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.

Indiana rallied from a 19-point deficit in the first half and took control after halftime as it won all three games at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.

It is the first time since a 2005 first-round series against Boston that the Pacers have won three road games in a playoff series.

The Cavs dropped three home games in a postseason series for the first time.

Cleveland stormed out to a 44-25 lead with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter before Indiana rallied.

The Pacers got within 56-52 at halftime and then shot 14 of 22 from the field in the third quarter - including four 3-pointers - to go up 85-76 going into the final 12 minutes.

Indiana seized control with a 17-2 run over a five-minute span in the third when Siakam had eight points and Haliburton five. That was part of a 29-8 spurt that saw the Pacers take a 12-point lead late in the third.

Cleveland was just 7 of 26 from the field in the quarter.

Mitchell’s 3-pointer got the Cavs within 106-103 with 1:27 remaining, but Indiana closed it out by scoring eight of the final 10 points.

8 more wins. pic.twitter.com/cMltC9lxBL
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 14, 2025

Thunder overcome Jokic’s 44 for 3-2 lead

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 to go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver's Nikola Jokic and can clinch the series on Thursday in Denver.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 23 field goals and had seven assists. He led six Thunder players in double figures.

Jokic made 17 of 25 shots. Denver's Jamal Murray scored 28 points, but he made just 10 of 27 from the field and no other Denver player scored more than 13 points.

Oklahoma City ran out to a 12-2 lead, and it looked like it might turn out like the Thunder's blowout victory in Game 2. Denver made one of its first nine shots, and that was a putback by Jokic.

Denver rallied and led by 11 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City closed strong and trailed 56-54 at halftime. Jokic had 19 points and nine rebounds before the break.

Denver took control early in the third quarter, as Murray scored 13 points in the period and Jokic added 12 to help the Nuggets take an 86-78 lead into the fourth.

Oklahoma City's Lu Dort, who scored three points in the first three quarters, hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to cut Denver's lead to 92-90 midway through the fourth.

Jokic hit a deep fadeaway 3-pointer to tie the game at 103 before Oklahoma City closed it out. Jalen Williams’ 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining gave the Thunder a 106-103 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s three with 48 seconds to go pushed the lead to six.

PROTECTED HOME COURT pic.twitter.com/Z94Gnb8eLk
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 14, 2025