Game 1 Recap: Cavs vs Pacers

After suffocating the Heat in four games in the opening round of the Eastern Conference Playoff bracket, the Cavaliers ran into an entirely different animal on Sunday night, as the hot-shooting Pacers came to town and put on an offensive display – stealing Game 1, 121-112, handing Cleveland its first loss of the postseason.

The Pacers hit first and withstood each of the Cavaliers’ attempts to rally back – taking an 11-point edge after one quarter and holding off Cleveland down the stretch after Donovan Mitchell led a furious charge to close the third quarter.

Mitchell topped the 30-point plateau for the eighth straight time in the opening game of a series – a new NBA record – leading both squads with 33 points. But Indiana was simply too much as a collective – featuring six players in double-figures, including Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, who each doubled-up in the win.

Overall, the Pacers shot 53 percent from the floor and from beyond the arc – drilling 19 three-pointers, handing out 30 assists and going 14-for-15 from the stripe. The Cavs outscored them in the paint, 70-38, and forced 17 turnovers, but shot just 24 percent themselves from deep (9-of-38) and scored just 22 points in the final period.

“Sometimes your offense affects your defense. I didn't feel like we moved (the ball), it was sticking,” said Kenny Atkinson postgame. “We tried to keep Ty out there to get another ballhandler, just to relieve the pressure. But our offense wasn't great tonight.”

Cleveland featured five players in double-figures, led by Mitchell, who finished 13-for-30 from the field, but just 1-of-11 from long-range, adding five boards, four assists and two steals. The six-time All-Star tallied 12 of his 33 in the third quarter, as the Cavaliers erased a 12-point Pacers lead to take their first lead of the game with just over three minutes to play in the period.

But, as they did all night, the Pacers answered Cleveland’s surge, and Myles Turner’s triple to end the quarter put Indiana back up a deuce heading into the fourth.

“Obviously, they made a bunch of shots, they get out and transition,” said Mitchell. “We didn't make shots, but give them credit. They came in here and handled business. They were physical. I mean, we would love to go 16-0, but that's not how this works. We’ve got to be better defensively. Offensively, we didn't make shots, and we’ve got to give them credit.”

Sam Merrill started across from Mitchell in the backcourt, with Darius Garland missing his third straight game with a toe injury, finishing with six points and four assists in the loss.

Evan Mobley, who was presented with the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year trophy just before tip-off, followed up with 20 points and a team-high 10 rebounds and a pair of steals.

Jarrett Allen was the only other starter in double-figures, finishing with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

Ty Jerome led all reserves with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting while leading the Wine & Gold with eight assists.

DeAndre Hunter added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, despite taking a nasty fall after being met mid-air on a clean block by Indy’s Bennedict Mathurin in the third quarter. Hunter went directly to the locker room with an apparent finger injury, but returned to finish out the affair.

“I think they just hit a lot of tough shots,” said Hunter. “I think we kept our composure for most of the game. I think we’ve just got to be more physical next game.”

Overall, the Cavaliers – who topped the 50 percent shooting mark in three of the four games against Miami – connected on 46 percent on Sunday night. They committed just eight total turnover and matched Indy on the boards, 43-apeice.

The Wine & Gold will look to even the series on Tuesday night when these two square off again at Rocket Arena. The East Semis shift to Indiana for Game 3, slated for Friday night, with Game 4 on tap for Sunday. If necessary, the series returns to the North Coast next Tuesday night and then back to Indianapolis the following Thursday. If things go the distance, Game 7 goes down that Sunday back in Cleveland.