NBA Playoff Bracket 2025 Picture, Schedule After Cavs Eliminated, Thunder Win Game 5
The Indiana Pacers are headed to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.
Indiana completed a 4-1 series victory over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
The Pacers earned their third win by nine or more points to become the first team into the Eastern Conference Finals. The matchup could be finalized as early as Wednesday if the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics.
The top seed in the Western Conference experienced a much different fate on Tuesday, as the Oklahoma City Thunder came from behind to beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 5. OKC now leads the series 3-2.
Upcoming Schedule
Game 5: New York at Boston (Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET)
Game 5: Golden State at Minnesota (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET)
Indiana 114, Cleveland 105
1 of 2
Indiana completed the clean sweep on Cleveland's home floor to finish off its 4-1 series victory.
The Pacers won Games 1, 2 and 5 at Rocket Mortgage Arena to help secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Indiana needed to battle back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit. Tyrese Haliburton's three-point shooting played a huge role in clawing back into the game.
Haliburton and Pascal Siakam used back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter to pull ahead of the top-seeded Cavs.
The Pacers outscored the Cavs 33-20 in the third quarter. A 19-2 run was part of the third quarter domination.
Cleveland tried to work its way into the game in the fourth quarter behind Donovan Mitchell, who led all scorers with 35 points.
The comeback attempt fell short, though, as Myles Turner sealed the victory with a three-point shot with 24 seconds left.
Indiana faces the winner of the Boston-New York series in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks can close out that series on Wednesday night in Boston.
Oklahoma City 112, Denver 105
2 of 2
Oklahoma City put on a fourth-quarter masterclass to take a 3-2 edge over Denver.
Lu Dort played a major role in the comeback by hitting three consecutive three-pointers.
Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished off the victory with clutch three-pointers.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 31 points and also contributed seven assists and six rebounds.
All five Thunder starters and Alex Caruso off the bench finished in double figures. That turned out to be the difference compared to Denver's three double-digit scorers.
Nikola Jokic had 44 points in the losing effort, including an incredible circus three-pointer late in the fourth that occurred right before OKC pulled away.
Jamal Murray added 28 points to complement Jokic's 44, but no one else on the Denver roster scored more than 15 points.
Denver needs more scoring depth in Game 6 to send the series back to OKC. Game 6 takes place on Thursday night at Ball Arena.
