Los Angeles, United States
\nThe Indiana Pacers thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their NBA playoff series on Sunday as Oklahoma City edged Denver to level their series at two games apiece.
\nPascal Siakam scored 21 points to lead seven Pacers players in double figures as Indiana pushed Eastern Conference top seeds Cleveland to the brink of elimination in their best-of-seven conference semi-final. There were no such offensive fireworks in Denver, where Oklahoma City squelched the Nuggets\u2019 second-half comeback bid to claim a gritty 92-87 victory in a game where both teams struggled to get shots to fall
\n. In Cleveland, the Pacers already had the game well in hand, with an 80-39 halftime lead, when the Cavs announced that star Donovan Mitchell was doubtful to return for the second half with a left ankle injury. Mitchell, coming off back-to-back 40-point games, scored 12 points in the first half, but was clearly hurting when he tested his ankle prior to the start of the second half
\n.His loss would be a body blow for a Cleveland team hoping to fend off elimination when they host game five on Tuesday. Coach Kenny Atkinson said Mitchell would have an MRI scan on Monday and he had \u201cno idea\u201d if Mitchell would be available for game five.
\nDespite the Pacers\u2019 dominance, there was no shortage of emotion. Indiana reserve Bennedict Mathurin was ejected with 4:32 left in the first quarter for a punch to De\u2019Andre Hunter\u2019s chest. Hunter received a technical foul for responding with a two-handed shove that sent Mathurin sprawling, while Indiana\u2019s Myles Turner got a technical for wading into the fray.
\nUp 38-23 after one quarter, the Pacers piled it on in the second period, a 17-0 scoring run pushing their lead to 78-37 on the way to an 80-39 halftime lead.Cleveland made just eight baskets in the first half while the Pacers put on an offensive display. A Turner basket at the rim, off a no-look pass from Tyrese Haliburton, sent the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd into a frenzy.
\nThe Pacers were also on-target from deep, making 12 of their 15 three-pointers in the first half. \u201cThis is a group that plays better through adversity,\u201d Turner said of the Pacers\u2019 rebound from their game-three defeat. \u201cWe got punched in the mouth last game, we had a hell of a response. The starters set the tone and the bench picked it up the rest of the game.\u201d
\nTurner and Obi Toppin added 20 points each for Indiana and Haliburton finished with 11. Darius Garland led Cleveland\u2019s scoring with 21 points, but the Cavaliers gave up 22 turnovers leading to 35 Pacers points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Los Angeles, United States The Indiana Pacers thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their NBA playoff series on Sunday as Oklahoma City edged Denver to level their series at two games apiece. Pascal Siakam scored 21 points to lead seven Pacers players in double figures as Indiana pushed Eastern Conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-477938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n