Tyrese Haliburton capped off a stunning late-game rally with a cold-blooded step-back triple with 1.1 seconds left as the Indiana Pacers stole Game 2 from the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120–119, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Wednesday (PH time) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The win gives the fourth-seeded Pacers a commanding 2–0 lead over the top-seeded Cavaliers heading home to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.
Indiana trailed by seven, 119–112, with just 57 seconds left after Donovan Mitchell sank two free throws to cap off a spectacular 48-point night. But what followed was a furious 8–0 run from the Pacers that silenced the Cleveland crowd and left the Cavaliers stunned.
Aaron Nesmith jumpstarted the comeback with a tip-in dunk, followed by a Pascal Siakam lay-up off a dime from Andrew Nembhard. After Haliburton split his free throws, he grabbed his own miss and nailed a step-back three-pointer with one second left to deliver the dagger.
Haliburton finished with 19 points—11 of which came in the fourth quarter—and grabbed nine rebounds, orchestrating the Pacers’ composure in crunch time. Indiana also swatted away nine shots as a team, eclipsing Cleveland’s five, and held the Cavaliers scoreless in the final 48 seconds.
And Haliburton left Cleveland fans silenced after they jeered him as "overrated". That came after The Athletic published an anonymous player poll, in which peers voted the Indiana Pacers star as the league's most overrated player.
Asked about the jeers, Haliburton said: "That one was unexpected. I didn't know we had beef."
"Good for them. That came out of nowhere. I think that label's there everytime I play. It would follow me until the next poll comes out," he added. "For me, I just control what I can, man. Overrate that."
Mitchell’s offensive masterpiece wasn’t enough, despite going 13-for-14 at the line and adding four steals. The Cavaliers made the most of their trips to the stripe, finishing 30-of-35 (85.7%), while Max Strus chipped in with a playoff career-high five offensive rebounds and tied his best mark of five made threes.
Game 3 is set for Saturday, May 10, at 7:30 a.m. (PH time) in Indianapolis, where the Pacers now have a golden opportunity to push the Cavs to the brink.
[Editor's note: This article was generated by a member of the One Sports Digital team using AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]
