FACING elimination, the Cleveland Cavaliers raced to a big lead in the first half, but just like in the first two games of the series, the Indiana Pacers owned the final two quarters of Game 5 to complete another come-from-behind win.

The Pacers sneaked from behind once again, scoring a 114-105 victory to eliminate the top-seeded Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Wednesday (Philippine time), May 14.

Indiana won the series, 4-1, and advanced to the East Finals for the second straight year. The Pacers will await the winner in the New York-Boston semis series. The Knicks are ahead in that series, 3-1, with the beleaguered defending champions Celtics hosting Game 5 on Thursday, May 15.

Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana’s series-clinching win by firing 31 points while Pascal Siakam added 21.

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Evan Mobley had 24 markers and 11 rebounds but the Cavaliers’ crumbled after a stellar run in the regular season.

Cleveland surged to a 44-25 lead with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter. Haliburton sparked Indiana’s comeback by hitting five three-pointers in the period that helped the Pacers move within 56-52 at the half.

Indiana then waxed hot in the third quarter, where went 14-of-22 from the field. The Pacers staged a searing 17-2 run to wrest the lead, 85-76, going into the final 12 minutes.(CCM)

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