Incredible comeback by the Indiana Pacers puts the Cleveland Cavaliers on the ropes

Tyrese Haliburton once again came through in a crucial moment, as he has done in three consecutive playoff games. The Indiana Pacers point guard hit a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to complete an impressive comeback and give his team a 120-119 victory over a depleted Cleveland Cavaliers, putting the Pacers up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Even Donovan Mitchell's outstanding performance was in vain.

Haliburton scored 19 points, with 11 of them coming in the final quarter. In the closing minutes of the game, with 47.9 seconds on the clock, Indiana scored the last eight points. Andrew Nembhard stole an inbound pass from Max Strus with 27.5 seconds remaining, allowing the Pacers to seek a three-pointer to tie. Haliburton drove in, drew a foul, and made the first of two free throws. He missed the second shot but grabbed the offensive rebound himself, stepped back to the three-point line, and made the decisive shot.

"I was upset about missing the layup because I couldn't control the ball, so I stepped back. I saw Ty Jerome, positioned myself at the top, and took the shot. It went in," Haliburton explained. "This is the NBA; crazier things have happened. That's basketball. We never give up, and we're battle-tested. We always find a way."

Since the 1997-98 season, teams have won merely three out of 1,643 playoff games in which they were at least seven points behind in the final minute of regulation time or in overtime. Indiana has secured two of those victories just in this postseason. In the first round, they overturned a similar deficit against Milwaukee, with Haliburton also sealing that game with a decisive layup. He has become only the second player in play-by-play history with more than one game-winning shot in the final two seconds of playoff games in the same postseason, joining LeBron James in 2018.

"Obviously, we had some luck. Ty hit another incredible shot to win the game," remarked coach Rick Carlisle. "You don't see this often, let alone twice in a week. Tyrese came through again. We are very fortunate."

Myles Turner and Aaron Nesmith led Indiana with 23 points each. It is the first time the Pacers have won the first two games of a playoff series on the road since the first round of 1994 against Orlando.

Donovan Mitchell shone with 48 points for a Cavaliers team missing three key players, including two starters. Evan Mobley, the Defensive Player of the Year, sat out due to a left ankle injury; De'Andre Hunter, with a right thumb issue, was also absent; and Darius Garland has not played any games in this series due to a big toe injury on his left foot.

"I believe we dominated most of the game, but we had mental lapses at the end. They capitalize on every mistake we make," stated Jarrett Allen, who contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Mitchell scored 15 points in the third quarter, helping Cleveland reach a 98-81 advantage. However, Indiana responded with a 17-6 run to get back in the game. With 1:06 to play, Strus hit a three-pointer off a pass from Mitchell to make it 117-110, but the Cavaliers failed to close out the game. Two turnovers and two offensive rebounds by the Pacers led to points that completed the comeback. It is the first time since 1996 that Cleveland has lost their first two games of a series at home.

"It's hard to put this into words," Carlisle added. "Cleveland came at us very strong at the start. In the fourth quarter, we just held on. We had enough energy to pull it off. Credit to the guys; they somehow found a way."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Remontada increíble de Indiana Pacers para poner contra las cuerdas a Cleveland Cavaliers