The Cleveland Cavaliers are healthy and make a statement in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Indiana Pacers 126-104.
Cleveland’s starters outplay Indiana’s and the Cavaliers own a 56-37 rebounding edge, including 18-4 on the offensive boards.
Bennedict Mathurin scores 23 points and Pascal Siakam 18 for the Pacers, who struggle from 3-point range (9-of-30). Tyrese Haliburton has just 4 points and 5 assists. Indiana has 4 technical fouls.
Donovan Mitchell scores 43 points with 9 rebounds. Max Strus scores 20, Jarrett Allen has 19 points and 12 rebounds, Evan Mobley 18 and 13, and Cleveland’s starters outscore Indiana’s 111-54.
The Pacers lead the series 2-1 and host Game 4 on Sunday night.
Dustin Dopirak has the best Pacers coverage and keep up with IndyStar’s Pacers newsletter.
Make that a 40-piece for Spida Mitchell pic.twitter.com/zIlZlcEV9i
Donovan Mitchell leads Cavs to increase lead vs. Pacers
6:57 left 4Q, Cavaliers 112, Pacers 95: Donovan Mitchell scores 5 points and assists on a 3 in quick fashion. Timeout, Pacers.
You know his name. You know his game. @spidadmitchell | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/ge2cWsiQ4y
Pacers cut into their deficit vs. Cavs
8:22 left 4Q, Cavaliers 104, Pacers 93: T.J. McConnell’s energy is lifting the Pacers. He has 12 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. McConnell’s dish to Pascal Siakam for a 3 forces a Cleveland timeout.
Pascal Siakam (15 PTS) SLAMS it home
Indiana looking to cut into the lead on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/D3UxPOcf4n
Siakam 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting in the second half. Had been some displeasure about his performance lately but he’s stepping up here.
Pacers have a lot of work ahead vs. Cavs in fourth quarter
End 3Q, Cavaliers 97, Pacers 79: Bennedict Mathurin and De’Andre Hunter jaw at each other, pick up technicals. Mathurin leads the Pacers with 20 points. Cleveland holds a 16-rebound edge.
Pacers are steaming mad as Cavs lead big
2:22 left 3Q, Cavaliers 89, Pacers 69: Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is livid about a lack of foul calls, and he is assessed a technical foul. Thomas Bryant gets a ‘T’ from the bench after leaving the game with a foul.
Myles Turner returns to the game after getting his ankle re-taped. Andrew Nembhard hits a couple of 3s and is up to 10 points.
Pacers big man Myles Turner heads to locker room
5:18 left 3Q, Cavaliers 80, Pacers 62: Myles Turner heads to the locker room with 5:58 left. He caught up with teammate Aaron Nesmith and hit the deck, grabbing at his right ankle.
Aaron Nesmith makes a 3 with 7:26 left, but Donovan Mitchell matches it 10 seconds later.
SPIDA WITH HIS FOURTH TRIPLE OF THE NIGHT FOR 23
3Q of CLE/IND Game 3 on ESPN pic.twitter.com/WMAq3wxqZP
Pacers are frigid as Cavs build lead
8:05 left 3Q, Cavaliers 73, Pacers 51: The Pacers have missed 13 straight 3-pointers after Ben Sheppard’s at the end of the first quarter. Cleveland leads by as many as 24 points.
Siakam two buckets in a row. Gotta take every chance he can get when Mobley isn’t on top of him.
Halftime: Cavaliers 66, Pacers 45
The Cavaliers steamroll the Pacers 34-13 in the second quarter.
Bennedict Mathurin has 13 points and Myles Turner 12. The rest of Indiana’s starters have 11 points on 5-of-21 shooting.
Donovan Mitchell has 17 points, and Jarrett Allen and Max Strus 13 each for Cleveland, which owns 35-17 rebounding edge. The Cavs have a 21-4 edge on second-chance points.
Cleveland gets its biggest lead, 61-40, on a Max Strus basket.
FULL. TEAM. EFFORT… leads to the Sam Merrill 3!
Cleveland leads at halftime in G3 on ESPN pic.twitter.com/YBw6sxSo6s
Pacers are frigid in the second quarter vs. Cavs
4:40 left 2Q, Cavaliers 51, Pacers 38: Donovan Mitchell adds a 3. He has 13 points. Darius Garland commits his 4th foul with 4:42 to go. Cleveland leads offensive rebounding 9-1.
Pacers now 2 of 12 from the floor and 0 of 7 from 3. The made 3s come in bunches and so do the misses.
Cavs extend lead over Pacers to double figures
6:08 left 2Q, Cavaliers 48, Pacers 38: Indiana hasn’t scored in 2:18. Jarrett Allen’s basket caps a 12-2 run and prompts a timeout.
Nesmith gets the putback off the missed Siakam FT pic.twitter.com/JsLCYH3Ooz
Cavs lead Pacers in second quarter
9:06 left 2Q, Cavaliers 41, Pacers 36: Bennedict Mathurin has 10 points off the bench, and T.J. McConnell 6 assists. Max Strus has 11 points and Evan Mobley 10 for the Cavs, who haven’t trailed.
Cavs 4 of 5 from the floor to start the second quarter. Pacers 1 of 5.
Tyrese Haliburton is mic’d up for Game 3
Indiana leads 2-0 I Game 3 LIVE now on ESPN pic.twitter.com/TAVCO4wWkZ
Pacers tie Cavs after first quarter
End 1Q, Pacers 32, Cavaliers 32: Ben Sheppard hits a 3 with 1 second left, rallying Indiana from a 15-point deficit.
Ben Sheppard NAILS the triple to tie it at the end of the 1Q
Pacers weather an early Cavs flurry pic.twitter.com/G3vxBTktor
Cavs were up 25-10 with 5:25 to go, so since then Pacers outscored them 22-7 to tie the game. Pacers 9 of 20 from the floor, 5 of 7 from 3, 9 of 10 at the line, 1.26 per possession. Cavs 12 of 28, 5 of 10, 3 of 6, 1.16 per possession.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland picks up his 3rd foul with 1:47 to go. He has 3 points and 2 assists.
Bennedict Mathurin’s second 3-pointer caps a 10-point Pacers run to cut their deficit to 25-20.
Ben Mathurin = sharpshooter from downtown
Tight game on ESPN as the 1Q winds down! pic.twitter.com/fxfkKhVr8s
Cleveland, which has struggled from 3-point range in this series, is 5-of-9 from deep.
Obi Toppin’s free throws with 5:15 left mark Indiana’s first points by anyone other than Myles Turner.
Myles Turner with the block and three pic.twitter.com/nl3bA6Xrep
Pacers have trouble scoring vs. the Cavs
6:41 left 1Q, Cavaliers 19, Pacers 8: Indiana doesn’t make a field goal for the first 5:19. The Pacers are 1-of-8 (all their points by Myles Turner) to Cleveland’s 7-of-11. Max Strus has 8 points — and Cleveland 11 — before the Pacers score.
MOBLEY BLOCK.
STRUS TRIPLE.
Turning defense into offense! https://t.co/IIhpa0bRx3 pic.twitter.com/n8c3RfGtdA
Cavs gain an early lead vs. Pacers
10:26 left 1Q, Cavaliers 6, Pacers 0: Cleveland has a couple of offensive rebounds. Timeout, Pacers.
GARLAND ALLEN STRUS TRIPLE
1Q now LIVE on ESPN! pic.twitter.com/B2BqACkbRf
Pacers vs. Cavs Game 3 starting lineups
Pacers: Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton
Cavaliers: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen.
Pacers vs. Cavaliers expert predictions, picks for today, May 9
Dustin Dopirak, IndyStar: Pacers 123-119
“The Cavs have a chance to get Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter back Friday and, as a 64-win team, they’ll come into Game 3 with a lot of pride to make sure they don’t get run out of the playoffs. The Pacers, however, have been running them ragged and have the boost of being at home with a 2-0 lead. The Cavs still have time to turn this around and, the way the conference semis have gone across the league, homecourt advantage only means so much. But the Cavs haven’t proven they keep up with the Pacers’ speed and close out games.”
Vaughn Dalzell, Yahoo: Cavs will win
“Cleveland is in an all-out motivational and must-win spot. We know the stats that teams down 3-0 are basically burnt toast, so the Cavaliers will have to do everything possible to avoid that at Indiana. While the odds are against them, Cleveland is the slight favorite and I expect that number to grow if Mobley or Hunter are ruled in. At -120 to -135 odds right now, Cleveland is the best bet as I think they close past -175.”
Dimers.com: Cavs 115, Pacers 114
Fox Sports: Cavaliers 119, Pacers 114
Pacers-Cavs injury report tonight
Pacers: Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) is out.
Cavaliers: Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (thumb) are questionable.
Cavaliers vs Pacers playoff schedule; start time for Pacers and Cavs today, May 9
(All times ET; *-if necessary)
Game 1, May 4: Pacers 121, Cavaliers 112
Game 2, May 6: Pacers 120, Cavaliers 119
Game 3, Fri., May 9: at Pacers, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 4, Sun., May 11: at Pacers, 8 p.m., TNT
*-Game 5, Tues., May 13: at Cavaliers, TBA
*-Game 6, Thurs., May 15: at Pacers, TBA
*-Game 7, Sun., May 18: at Cavaliers, TBA
What channel is the Pacers game on today, May 9? How can I watch Pacers-Cavaliers in NBA playoffs?
TV: ESPN. No games in this series are on FanDuel Sports Network.
Watch with a free Fubo trial
How can I stream, listen to the Pacers today, May 9?
93.5 and 107.5 FM in Indianapolis, with Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analysis) and Pat Boylan (sideline reporting). Game 2 streaming is on SiriusXM channels 81 (Cavaliers feed), 86.
Are the Pacers favored over the Cavs today, May 9? Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers betting odds
via BetMGM
Game 3 favorite: Cavaliers by 2.5 points
Over/under: 229.5 total points
Moneyline: Pacers +120, Cavs -145
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Pacers a 53.1% chance of winning.
How to get tickets for Pacers vs. Cavs game today, May 9?
Game 3 Pacers tickets start at $121 on StubHub.
Look for Pacers tickets on StubHub
Pacers probable starting lineup today, May 9
(with series averages)
Pacers key bench players
Cavaliers probable starting lineup today, May 9
Cavaliers key bench players
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cleveland Cavaliers-Indiana Pacers Game 3 results: Healthy Cleveland routs Indiana
Reporting by Scott Horner and Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
