The Indiana Pacers lived up to their name Sunday night.
The Pacers ran the floor with breakneck tempo and fended off a second-half surge from the Cleveland Cavaliers to steal Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on the road, 121-112.
From the opening tip, Indiana emphasized transition offense to create open looks. And when the Pacers got those, they drained them — especially from beyond the arc.
The Pacers finished the game shooting 53% from the floor (44-of-83), but the most impressive stat was Indiana’s 19-of-36 (52.8%) day from 3-point range. In fact, when compared to Cleveland’s nine converted 3s, that means the Pacers posted a 30-point advantage from deep.
Indiana had six players reach double-figures in scoring, with four of those putting down at least 17. Guard Andrew Nembhard, who laced 5-of-6 3s, led the way with 23 points and six assists. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton added 22 points and a game-high 13 assists.
Throughout most of the game, the Pacers controlled the action, taking a six-point lead into halftime.
The Cavaliers, who were down by 12 in the middle of the third, relied on guard Donovan Mitchell’s 12 points in the period to spark a 20-4 run that allowed Cleveland to briefly reclaim the lead, their first since the game was 8-6 when there were nine minutes left in the first quarter.
Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 33 points to go with four assists and five rebounds, but he struggled significantly from 3-point range, making just one of his 11 attempts.
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS PREVIEWS:NYK-BOS | IND-CLE | DEN-OKC
But, in the fourth quarter, the Pacers ripped off a 15-4 run to take an eight-point lead inside the final two minutes.
Game 2 is in Cleveland on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, TNT).
