NBA playoffs takeaways: Pacers defeat Cavaliers 114-105, win series 4-1 to eliminate Cleveland

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 in a close Game 5 on Tuesday to take a 3-2 series lead. Earlier in the night, the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-105, eliminating the East’s top-seeded team on their home floor by winning the series 4-1.

Denver led for much of the game, but none of that mattered in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder tied it up in the final five minutes and outscored the Nuggets, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Thunder and Nuggets play Game 6 in Denver on Thursday.

In Cleveland, the Pacers, who trailed by 19 points in the first half, went on a 16-4 second-quarter run, thanks to a handful of 3-pointers by Tyrese Haliburton, to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 6 points en route to silencing Rocket Mortgage Center. Indiana continued its onslaught in the third quarter with a 17-2 run in just under five minutes to grab a 6-point advantage.

Haliburton led Indiana with 31 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Pascal Siakam tallied 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Andrew Nembhard scored 18. Aaron Nesmith added a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Cleveland returned the favor by making its own run in the fourth quarter but couldn’t push past Indiana. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 35 points and nine rebounds, and Evan Mobley finished with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter added 12 points off the bench.

The Pacers will play the winner of the New York Knicks-Boston Celtics series in the Eastern Conference finals.

Thunder 112, Nuggets 105

(Thunder lead series 3-2)

J-DUB AND SHAI CLUTCH 3s.

3-2 SERIES LEAD FOR OKC 🚨 pic.twitter.com/OqLLiX62ar

— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2025

Oklahoma City’s dynamic duo comes through

During the regular season, the tandem of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren was among the league’s best pairings, dominating on the defensive end and being connective options offensively.

In Game 5, the Thunder’s biggest game of the season, the duo proved vital once again, combining for 29 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, a pair of steals and three blocks.

This is an immensely physical series, with the likes of Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and even Russell Westbrook, to a lesser degree. But Oklahoma City places a ton of trust in Holmgren and Hartenstein, believing in their ability to not only rise to the challenge but also overcome it.

Whether it’s Hartenstein throwing up prayer hands to the basketball gods after his floater finally fell or Holmgren going coast to coast showcasing his ballhandling ability, the Thunder have two of the most versatile big men in the NBA. And as efficient as they can be operating in separate lineups, their innate chemistry, consistently playing off each other, gives them an edge most teams don’t have. — Kelly Iko, staff writer

Denver’s lack of depth showed

On the surface, it’s difficult to find fault in coach David Adelman’s strategy to keep Jokić on the floor for the entire second half. Tuesday night, Jokić had an all-time level playoff game. The Nuggets led by as many as 12 points in the second half. Their interim head coach wanted to go for the win and take a chokehold on what has been a magnificent second-round series.

But the Nuggets have been short of depth all season, and Oklahoma City has been one of the deepest teams in the league. The Thunder rallied to win because they had more bodies to soak up minutes, and that proved to be the difference. The Nuggets ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. Shots that were previously falling came up short. Rebounds and 50/50 balls they had been getting to, the Thunder were getting to first. It turned a big Denver lead into a heart-wrenching loss and put the Nuggets on the brink of elimination. — Tony Jones, staff writer

Nuggets’ offense struggles

Right after the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said on the broadcast, “You’re only as good as your weakest link.” He wasn’t talking about his opponent, but he might as well have been. In the last two games, the Nuggets simply haven’t had a good option to close with Jokić, Gordon, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun.

In Game 4, starter Porter, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, went 1-for-7, scoring 3 points in 34 minutes. He had the same shooting line for 2 points in 29 minutes in Game 5. Westbrook went 2-for-12 with 6 points in Game 4, with the Nuggets losing his 27 minutes by 20 points. Tuesday, he was 1-for-7 with 4 points and two airballs in the second half in 20 minutes. It is a credit to Jokić and Murray that the Nuggets broke 100 points against the league’s best defense.

If we get another close one in Game 6, Adelman likely won’t feel good about any of his options. — Eric Koreen, senior writer

Pacers 114, Cavaliers 105

(Pacers win series 4-1)

Pacers make shots after slow start

The Pacers got off to a disappointing start in Game 5. Haliburton got two early fouls, and as a team, they were shooting poorly. Indiana was 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) inside the arc and 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) beyond it and ended the period down 12.

In the second quarter, though, Haliburton got hot from 3, hitting five consecutive 3-pointers. The Pacers improved to 10-for-20 from two and 7-for-12 from three. Shot-making continued to improve in the third as the Pacers took the lead. Indiana was 1-of-14 from two and 4-of-8 from 3. In the final frame, Indiana was 10-of-18 on all shots.

With his team’s chances at taking down the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in five games on the line, Haliburton stepped up. For the first time since Game 1 of the series, Haliburton scored more than 20 points. — Shakeia Taylor, staff writer

Cavaliers outpaced by Indiana and injuries

Respect to Mitchell. Clearly hurting, he scored 16 of his 35 points in a furious comeback attempt. He was bothered by an ankle sprain that was limiting his jumping ability, but he was out there running and gunning until the bitter, disappointing end.

Can any of the remaining teams keep up with Indiana? I’m not sure. I know the Cavs could not deal with the relentless defensive pressure AND all the sprinting the Pacers did on offense over the course of four quarters. Yes, Cleveland had injuries, but the tempo was too much.

The Cavs were the NBA’s second-best 3-point shooting team, and in an elimination game, shot 26 percent from deep. Mobley was strong, but Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen were vulnerabilities in this series.

The Cavs banished Ty Jerome to the end of the bench for Game 5, but with the adjustment of Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade beginning to wear down, coach Kenny Atkinson went back to Jerome in the second half, and he at least scored 8 points. But even with a better offensive night for Jerome, he was still beaten off the dribble too many times and couldn’t stay on the court for that last, furious push.

Sam Merrill missed this game with a neck strain. Garland missed two games with a toe sprain, and Mobley and Hunter each missed a game. Atkinson said he didn’t want to blame injuries for this series, but either the injuries or the Cavs’ inability to play through them had a huge impact.

So did Indiana’s relentless pressure and pace.

Mitchell tried to extend this series with a gutsy performance, and now he has a whole summer to rest. — Joe Vardon, senior writer

(Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)

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