Just about everything possible went wrong for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, including losing star Donovan Mitchell.
Now, the top seed in the Eastern Conference is just a single game away from an early postseason exit.
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The Indiana Pacers, after a historic blowout in the first half, rolled to the 129-109 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Cavaliers, who didn’t have Mitchell in the second half because of an ankle injury. That gives the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the series heading into Game 5 on Tuesday night in Ohio.
Donovan Mitchell was the only Cavaliers player to hit double figures during their brutal first half on Sunday night. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters)
Pacers dominate in heated first half
The Pacers came out swinging Sunday night, both figuratively and literally. They started the game on a 22-10 tear and shut down the Cavaliers almost instantly. Tempers, though, flared late in that opening period and led to a heated altercation between Bennedict Mathurin and De’Andre Hunter.
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Mathurin appeared to sneak up and throw a punch into Hunter’s chest when they were in the lane, which sent Hunter doubling over briefly. Mathurin immediately backed up toward the 3-point line to create space, but Hunter followed him. While Mathurin started to taunt Hunter with his arms outstretched, Hunter came up and shoved him hard with both hands. Mathurin was sent crashing to the court and a wider altercation ensued.
After a long review, Mathurin was hit with a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. Hunter, though his shove was more apparent, was only assessed a technical foul for his retaliatory action. Myles Turner was also given a technical foul for his role.
But despite losing Mathurin, the Pacers didn’t slow down much at all. They jumped to a 38-23 lead after the opening quarter while holding the Cavaliers to just four made field goals in the first 12 minutes. The Pacers opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run, which gave them a 25-point lead.
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The Pacers closed the second quarter on a 19-2 run to jump up by 41 — which matched an NBA postseason record. They dropped 80 points in the first half while shooting 60% from the field, and they seemingly couldn’t miss. They hit their final seven shots of the period and had 25 assists. That’s the most assists in any half of a playoff game in the play-by-play area.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, managed just eight field goals in the first half compared to the 30 the Pacers made.
Cavaliers lose Donovan Mitchell
By that point, the Cavaliers were simply too far out of it. Their chances at a comeback fell drastically after they lost Mitchell, too.
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Mitchell did not take the court with the Cavaliers to start the second half after he appeared to tweak his ankle warming up for the third quarter. Mitchell stepped awkwardly while preparing to take a shot ahead of the start of the second half, and he bent down to grab his leg, clearly in a lot of pain.
The team then called him doubtful to return with the ankle injury. Mitchell didn’t return to the bench, finishing the night with 12 points. Specifics of his injury aren’t yet known. Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game Mitchell will undergo an MRI on Monday.
Mitchell’s MRI reportedly revealed a re-aggravation of an ankle injury. He’s considered a game-time decision for Game 5, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
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The Cavaliers responded briefly without Mitchell, but the Pacers took a 32-point lead into the final quarter. They then rolled to the 20-point win without any issue.
Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 21 points and six assists. Max Strus added 11 points, and Evan Mobley finished with 10. The Cavs had 22 turnovers and ended up shooting 30 of 70 from the field.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 21 points and six rebounds while shooting 9 of 10 from the field. Turner added 20 points, and Obi Toppin added 20 points off the bench.
While Sunday’s game was certainly an outlier, considering how good the Cavaliers have been all season, the Pacers looked like the best team still standing in the playoffs in Game 4. If the Cavaliers don’t punch back immediately on Tuesday night, their hopes at what would be their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2018 will be over early.
