Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton isn’t resting on his laurels. After making the series-winning shot in overtime of Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, he’s ready for his next challenge.
The top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers are next for fourth-seeded Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals, which begin Sunday night in Cleveland.
“If you want to be the best, you gotta beat the best,” Haliburton said. “So yeah, we’re looking forward to it.”
Cleveland demolished the Miami Heat in the opening round, winning all four games by an NBA-record 122 combined points. The Cavaliers completed the sweep with a 138-83 victory in Miami, setting another league record for the largest margin in a closeout game.
The Pacers had a much more competitive series with the Bucks, highlighted by their 119-118 overtime triumph in the finale. Haliburton’s game-winning basket completed an epic comeback that saw Milwaukee build a 118-111 lead with 40 seconds remaining.
Indiana’s underrated depth shined throughout the battle with Pascal Siakam, Haliburton, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell all averaging double figures. Siakam led the way at 19.8 per game.
“It’s hard to replicate what they do in practice because they’re a tough team to prepare for,” Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen said. “They’re all perimeter players and they’re apparently the fastest transition team in the league.”
NBA field-goal percentage champion Allen admitted Turner presents a unique problem with his ability to make 3-pointers at one end and block shots at the other, given that he doesn’t typically defend outside of the paint.
“I’m not really comfortable doing it, so I just have to try and mitigate the damages out there,” Allen said.
Cleveland power forward Evan Mobley — the NBA Defensive Player of the Year — believes he can flip the table in a similar way against Siakam. The first-time All-Star averaged a somewhat quiet 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds against Miami but is capable of much more.
“I’m going to use my length on him,” Mobley said. “He goes to his shot and knocks them down, so my job is stopping him from getting there.”
The status of Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is the largest question mark on either squad. The All-Star missed the final two games against Miami after injuring his left big toe and is listed as questionable for Game 1.
Sixth Man of the Year finalist Ty Jerome would start if Garland cannot play, but coach Kenny Atkinson said a decision won’t be made until just before tipoff.
“We’re just in this kind of area where we’ll just kind of see day to day, see how he feels tomorrow morning,” Atkinson said. “I’ve seen Darius in the ice bucket and I’ve seen him in the warm bucket. We’ve got to find out the D.G. situation tomorrow and we’ll kind of go from there.”
Though Cleveland went 64-18 in the regular season, which was the second-best mark in the league, Indiana won three of their four meetings. Neither coach, however, puts much stock in those results.
“When you get to the second round of the playoffs, things elevate,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “The level of competition, the stage. A lot of things to be excited about.”
Cleveland has won two of its previous three postseason series against the Pacers, most recently in 2018 when LeBron James carried the Cavaliers to a Game 7 win in the opening round. Indiana is 6-9 in playoff games against the Cavs.
