The Eastern Conference’s top seed is out as the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Indiana Pacers 114-105 in game five in Ohio.
The fourth seed Pacers advanced to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals as they look to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Pacers closed out the series off the back of another superb showing from Tyrese Haliburton.
The star point guard put up 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds as all five Indiana starts reached double digits in points scored.
Pascal Siakam was incredibly influential once again with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Aaron Nesmith led all comers with 13 rebounds and Andrew Nembhard chipped in with a handy 18 points.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 35 points and was supported by Evan Mobley’s 24 points, but they lacked support – starting small forward Max Strus failed to score in his 26 minutes on the court.
The hosts raced out to a 12-point lead at quarter-time, and blew that out to 19 during the second quarter.
But the Pacers reduced the margin to just four at the main break before a barnstorming 33-20 third term opened up a nine-point lead, and that’s where it remained at game’s end, despite the Cavaliers starting the final term with a 15-4 run.
Cleveland painstakingly made just nine of their 35 three-point attempts, and ended on the sour note of missing four consecutive free throws.
It was the fifth meeting between the Pacers and the Cavaliers in Cleveland this season with Indiana prevailing on all five occasions.
Remarkably, the Cavaliers boasted a 36 and five win-loss record at home against all other opponents as they chalked up 64 wins in the regular season.
The New York Knicks lead the other Eastern Conference semi-final series 3-1 against reigning NBA champions the Boston Celtics, and Indiana awaits the winner.