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Jamal Collier
INDIANAPOLIS — Despite building the largest halftime lead in playoff history en route to a dominant 129-109 Game 4 victory that gave his team a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t ready to take note of the accomplishment.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” Carlisle said Sunday night.
Carlisle continued to emphasize how the Pacers have been the underdog in every game of their second-round series with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and said he wants his team to maintain that mindset despite being one win away from a second straight conference finals appearance.
“We’re going to keep approaching this like we have everything to prove,” Carlisle said. “We know people don’t believe in us … the things about the scores and all that, it’s meaningless. This game is now history. So, we got to stay in the present moment as much as we can try to maintain an edge.”
The Pacers never trailed in Sunday’s game, racing out to an 80-39 halftime advantage. Indiana forced Cleveland into more turnovers (14) than it allowed field goals (eight). The 41-point lead tied the largest in NBA postseason history, matching the 2017 Cavaliers who led the Boston Celtics by 41 during an Eastern Conference finals game, according to ESPN Research.
“Complete domination by them,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “That’s kind of the story. In every facet.”
Cleveland picked up its first win of the series in Friday’s Game 3, aided by the return of Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter. The Cavs also flummoxed the Pacers during the second quarter of that game with a 3-2 zone defense that held them to 8-for-21 (38%) shooting and 1-for-7 from 3.
The Pacers had an answer Sunday, shooting 9-for-15 (60%) from the field against the zone and hitting 3 of their 6 3-pointers.
“Our film sessions are always pretty ugly after a loss,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. “I feel that Coach is a savant when it comes to adjustments and getting the best out of guys. And I think we can just follow that lead and his intensity come playoff time. It’s easy to follow.”
Haliburton scored 11 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds. The Pacers had seven players finish in double figures and three — Obi Toppin, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner — with 20 points.
Indiana’s 129 points tied its most in a game this postseason.
“We just came out with good energy,” Haliburton said. “I thought last game they set the tone from a physicality standpoint. That’s been a talking point from them all series. Today we came out, set the tone from the jump and really just rode that wave.”
After winning a franchise-record 64 games and leading the Eastern Conference all season, the Cavaliers are now on the brink of elimination. Garland had 21 points, but Mobley was limited to just 10, and Jarrett Allen had 2 points and 2 rebounds.
“They raised their game to another level, and we didn’t match it,” Atkinson said. “We talked about it. We knew it was coming. You try to prepare for these things. You try to prepare your guys mentally, but for whatever reason they were at another level. Their force was greater in every sense.”
Now the Cavs trail 3-1 in the series with the status of star Donovan Mitchell uncertain going forward. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his injured left ankle Monday.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Cleveland.
“There’s going to be a big haymaker coming,” Carlisle said. “We respect the heck out of their fans and what they got going there. A lot of work to do.”
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