Pacers Steal Game 2 From The Cavs
The second game of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals tipped off at 7 PM last night and the Pacers would look to take an early 2-0 lead. The Cavs would give them all they could handle but at the end with the game on the line the Pacers Tyrese Haliburton hit the game winning three with only 1.1 left on the clock. The Pacers would take a 2-0 lead heading back to Indianapolis with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line.
Pacers On The Ropes In First Half
UNBELIEVABLE ????
The Pacers complete the comeback to take a 2-0 lead in the series vs. the Cavs‼️ pic.twitter.com/gTA4dH4JJW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 7, 2025
The Pacers would start the scoring first with Haliburton hitting a driving layup. The game would go back and forth until the 8:02 mark when Max Strus would tie the game at nine with a 25-foot three-pointer, with the assist coming from Dovan Mitchell. The blue and gold would only continue to play from behind the rest of the quarter one with the Cavs leading 32-15 after one.
The second quarter would start with Dean Wade hitting a 25 foot three with the assist coming from Mitchell making it 35-15 at the 11:43 mark in the second. The Cavs even though they would be without three rotational players would seem to keep a steady lead all throughout the first half. The Cavs seem as they were playing with more grit and force to maintain this lead. They would go into halftime with an 61-50 lead.
Pacers Mount A Comeback
The second half scoring started with Mitchell hitting a floating layup at the 11:18 mark. The blue and gold would eventually be down by 20 for the second time in this years playoffs. The score at the 6:51 mark of the third quarter was 81-61 with the Cavs looking at an comfortable lead the crowd would start chanting “overrated” towards Haliburton who was voted that very word earlier this season by his peers.
The chant would come back to bite the Cavs with the blue and gold doing something that has only been done three times since the 1997-1998 season. Playoff teams have only won three out of 1,643 games when trailing by at least seven points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime, according to ESPN.
The Pacers have done that twice this postseason against the Bucks and now the Cavs. Haliburton hit the game-winning three after he rebounded his miss of his second free throw attempt. Those four points by Haliburton sealed the deal for the blue and gold in game two.
Final Thoughts
This was a game that shocked the whole NBA and put this team as a legitimate contender for the NBA Title. This team is deep, and they once again had six players in double figures for the second straight game. My player of the game is Haliburton with a stat line of 19 points, nine rebounds, and four assists while also hitting the game winner.
I also wanna shout out the play of Andrew Nembhard, who had a double-double with 13 points, 13 assists, and seven rebounds. The way this team plays and how efficiently they run is a winning recipe. They now head back to Indy, where it’s possible for the brooms to get ready for a sweep of the Cavs. Stay tuned to Total Apex for all things NBA Playoffs.
