Drama for the Cavs! The Pacers take a 3-1 lead and Donovan Mitchell gets injured

Things are looking very dark for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Indiana Pacers have taken a 3-1 lead in the series with Donovan Mitchell injured.

Nevertheless, Rick Carlisle does not want to get ahead of himself. “We haven't done anything yet,” he stated on Sunday night, emphasizing that his team must continue with the mindset of being the underdogs, as they have been in every game of this series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the conference leaders during the regular season.

Carlisle stressed that the Pacers must maintain focus: “We will keep approaching this as if we have everything to prove. We know that people don't believe in us... what the scores say and all that, it means nothing. This game is already in the past. So we must stay in the present and try to retain the mental edge.”

On Sunday, the Pacers dominated from the start and never trailed, building a halftime lead of 80-39. They forced more turnovers (14) than they allowed field goals (eight) in that first half. This 41-point difference equaled the largest halftime lead in a postseason game, a record set by the Cavaliers themselves in 2017 against the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN Research.

“A complete domination by them,” admitted Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson. “That's the story. In every aspect.”

The Cavaliers had secured their first win of the series on Friday, in the third game, with the return of Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De'Andre Hunter. In that game, they managed to unsettle Indiana with a 3-2 zone defense during the second quarter, holding the Pacers to 8-for-21 shooting and just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. But in the fourth game, the Pacers responded, shooting 60% (9-for-15) against the zone and making three of six three-pointers.

Tyrese Haliburton, one of the team's standouts, highlighted the group's adaptability: “Our video sessions after losses tend to be quite tough. I think the coach is wise in making adjustments and getting the best out of us. And I believe we can simply follow that leadership and intensity in the playoffs. It's easy to follow him.”

Haliburton finished with 11 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. Seven Indiana players scored in double digits, with Obi Toppin, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner reaching 20 points. The team's 129 points matched their best mark in this postseason. “We came out with good energy,” added Haliburton. “In the previous game, they set the tone physically, something that has been talked about throughout the series. Today, we came out to impose ourselves from the start and simply carried on with that momentum.”

The Cavaliers, who had set a franchise record with 64 wins in the regular season and dominated the conference, are now on the brink of elimination. Garland scored 21 points, but Mobley was limited to 10, and Jarrett Allen contributed just two points and two rebounds. “They raised their level and we didn't match it,” Atkinson said. “We spoke about it, we knew something like this was coming. You try to prepare your players mentally, but for some reason, they were on another level. Their intensity was superior in every way.”

Cleveland now trails 3-1 in the series, with the physical status of their star Donovan Mitchell in doubt: he will undergo an ankle injury evaluation on Monday. The fifth game will be held on Tuesday in Cleveland. “It's going to be a big challenge,” Carlisle warned. “We have a lot of respect for their fans and what they have there. There's still a lot of work to be done.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¡Drama para los Cavs! Los Pacers ponen el 3-1 y Donovan Mitchell se lesiona