Donovan Mitchell struggled from the perimeter, Evan Mobley was a non-factor for long stretches and Darius Garland spent the evening in street clothes.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was a rare off-night for Cleveland’s three All-Stars and the Cavaliers lost at home to the Indiana Pacers. The 121-112 result leaves the top seed in search of a way forward for Game 2 at home on Tuesday.
“It’s one game, yeah we lost home-court advantage, but it’s one game,” said Mitchell, who shot 11 of 30 from the field and was 1 of 11 on 3-point attempts, while still scoring a game-high 33 points. “We didn’t play our best basketball. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to execute, and I have no doubt we will.”
After just one game in the series, there are legitimate concerns for the Cavaliers, who will put plenty of energy into Game 2, with the following two games of the series set for Indianapolis.
While Cleveland dominated the league while earning an Eastern Conference-best 64 wins in the regular season, they are now just 1-4 against the Pacers this season, including Game 1.
Garland’s status remains a large concern for the Cavaliers. The point guard’s sprained left big toe has kept him out of three straight playoff games. Coach Kenny Atkinson continues to say Garland is day-to-day, but the Pacers expect to see those 20.6-point, 6.7-assist averages on the court soon, while he is officially listed as questionable.
“Certainly, Garland is going to be back in this one, probably sooner than later,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “They’re very good at what they do. They’ll adjust.”
Mobley (ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (thumb) also are listed as questionable, but Atkinson said he had “real concern” whether either would be available for Game 2.
The Pacers shot a blistering 52.8 percent (19 of 36) from 3-point range in the opener, led by Andrew Nembhard, a defensive minded guard who buried 5 of 6 attempts. Forward Aaron Nesmith made 4 of 6 and Bennedict Mathurin was 3 of 5 off the bench.
Nembhard also was responsible for shadowing Mitchell as he delivers a solid postseason so far. He has averaged 16.3 points and 5.0 assists, while shooting 57.1 percent beyond the arc, through six playoff games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Cavaliers, after performing well in 17 playoff games last season.
“Drew was just doing what Drew does come playoff time,” Indiana point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “His lock-in level is unbelievable right now and he’s really the head of the snake for us defensively.”
Haliburton, Nembhard and Carlisle all noted the key to winning the first game was immediately taking the crowd out of the game by leading 36-25 after one quarter.
The Cavaliers were an East-best 34-7 at home in the regular season and went 2-0 in their building against Miami in the first round. They have relied on their fans’ emotion to cause “Cavalanches” that now feature artificial snow falling from the arena’s rafters.
“We knew this crowd was probably going to be the best crowd we’ve ever been in front of,” Haliburton said. “I thought we did a good job when that âCavalanche’ was on the way.”
Haliburton also stepped up defensively with three blocked shots, along with 22 points and 13 assists, while center Myles Turner had 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Nembhard believes the team-wide defensive flex will continue, whether Cleveland has Garland in uniform or not.
“We didn’t really look at it like, âAh, this is our chance,’ when he wasn’t out there,” Nembhard said. “We wanted to do our best to compete. There was a good energy about it that we can keep bringing the rest of the series.”
