Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers hits a game-winning shot over Ty Jerome (left) of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Rocket Arena on May 06, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 120-119. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
HOW’S THAT for a national statement?
With the 114-105 clincher in Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Indiana Pacers took three of their four wins against the Eastern Conference’s top seed in Clevelandwhile playing a deep bench to allow for one-on-one defending.
It was especially fitting that the Pacers’ point guard Tyrese Haliburton was at his best again, scoring 31 points, including six of 10 from 3-point range, and dishing out eight assists less than a month after a poll of NBA players conducted byThe Athletic named him the league’s most overrated.
Oh, and of the 13 ESPN experts who predicted a series winner against the Cavs, no one chose Indiana to advance.
“I had a great game,” Haliburton admits after the series clincher, “but a big part of that was guys were finding me, putting me in the right spots.”
What have Haliburton and his team achieved since the now-infamous poll was published? Well, he has established his own “Overrate that!” mantra with not one but two 7-point comeback wins in the final minute in one week, trouncing the Milwaukee Bucks in the end of the first round of the playoffs and dominating Cleveland in the beginning of the second.
After a quiet showcase in Game 3, Haliburton had plenty of life left in him, playing a large part in his team’s 21-2 third quarter comeback in Game 5.
“Winning a closeout game on the road is extremely difficult,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle says. “Cleveland threw a hellacious game at us. You know, we were down 19, and Ty’s run of shot-making in the second quarter got us back into it, and then we just had a lot of guys that played extremely hard.”
Haliburton also had plenty of help in the series win against the Cavs; everybody from Pascal Siakam to Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Obi Toppin, and even Thomas Bryant had their moments. But perhaps no one outside of Haliburton was as steady as Myles Turner, who recently wrote inThe Players’ Tribune that last year’s playoff success “revitalized” him as a player.
Myles Turner rests during a free throw at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Photo by Clay Maxfield
Turner, who put Game 5 on ice with a corner 3 with 23 seconds left in the game, was equally as steady in Game 4 when he knocked down three jumpers from distance to help the Pacers go up by an astonishing 41 points at halftime. The team made it look easy as it finished the season, going an impressive 7-2 overall against the Cavs, who otherwise went 67-15 when combining both regular season and playoff records.
Furthermore, at home this season, Cleveland went 36-5 against other teams in the NBA. Against the Pacers, however, they finished the year a dismal 0-5.
“Job’s not finished,” Turner says, sounding more and more like the wise veteran after Game 4.
Turner may be onto something, because as impressive as last year’s run was, this year’s team seems to know it belongs and isn’t fun to play against. Perhaps iteven has as good a chance as anyone else to win the whole thing, something the franchise has never done.
In its second consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the next rung on the ladder is for Pacers to play the winner between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks.