Tyrese Haliburton grabbed his own missed free throw and buried a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining, giving the visiting Indiana Pacers a 120-119 win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, taking a commanding lead in the series Tuesday night.
The Pacers scored the final eight points after Donovan Mitchell made two free throws to push Cleveland’s lead to 119-112 with 57 seconds left. Baskets by Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam made it a one-possession game, and Andrew Nembhard stole the subsequent inbounds pass from Max Strus.
Haliburton drew a foul with 12.4 ticks remaining, making his first free throw to make it 119-117, then grabbed his miss on the second. He dribbled beyond the arc before calming then making the 3-pointer to complete Indiana’s comeback from 20 points down.
Mitchell amassed 48 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals for the top-seeded Cavaliers, who were without NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain), All-Star point guard Darius Garland (left big toe sprain) and key reserve De’Andre Hunter (right thumb sprain).
Cleveland lost the first two games of a series at home for the first time since 1996, when it was swept by the Knicks in a best-of-three matchup. The Cavaliers have won just 7 of 13 home games during their current three-year playoff streak.
Nesmith and Myles Turner each scored 23 points and Haliburton had 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Bennedict Mathurin added 19 points and Nembhard collected 13 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, along with eight turnovers, for fourth-seeded Indiana.
Mitchell, a six-time All-Star, scored 12 points in the first, 15 in the third and 12 in the fourth in an electrifying performance. He made 15 of 30 field goal attempts and was 17-of-21 on free throws, setting career highs in free throws made and attempted.
Strus had 23 points and Jarrett Allen posted 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who led 81-61 midway through the third. Sam Merrill scored 14 off the bench.
Power forward Mobley and Hunter were both injured Sunday in Game 1 on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions that were not deemed fouls. Garland has not played since April 23 against the Heat.
Mobley landed on the foot of Turner, who slid under him on a shot, while Hunter dislocated his thumb while falling after his dunk was blocked by Mathurin.
NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers expressed his displeasure in three-minute responses Monday after practice and before the game, eliciting a response from Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.
“Nobody wants to see players get hurt,” Carlisle said. “That disturbs the hell out of us.”
