Pacers impact Cavaliers in the opening game of the NBA playoff series

The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-112 on Sunday, opening their NBA second-round playoff series by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers at their home court.

Andrew Nembhard drilled five points from 19 Indiana 3-pointers to score a team-high 23 points, Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and distributed 13 assists to the Pacers, whose Pacers had scored from six two players.

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Halliburton said: “I think we’re doing a great job of starting the game the right way.

Pascal Siakam scored 10 of 17 points in the first quarter as Indiana led 36-25.

The Pacers overcame the 33-point performance of Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell and scored 17 turnovers, resulting in 22 Cleveland points.

Indiana led 64-58 at halftime and pushed the lead to 12 before the Cavaliers stepped back.

Cleveland has led 85-84 since the first quarter after Evan Mobley's hook shot with 3:16 left in the third quarter.

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Mobley added 20 points and 10 rebounds, but the Cavaliers clearly missed All-Star point guard Darius Garland, who twisted his toes for the third time in a row.

They couldn't respond as Indiana pulled out again after a 15-4 scoring game in the fourth quarter.

“We’re in the storm,” Halliburton said. “I mean, they’re the number one team in the conference. They have an incredible crowd. So they got into the game and were willing to get back to the game. We just had to find a way to develop the lead.

“We did that by stopping, going out for a run, just playing Pacers basketball.”

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The Houston Rockets hosted the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the first round series later Sunday.

The Rockets are trying to become the 14th team to drop from 3-1 to win the NBA playoff series.

The Warriors have an advantage in experience. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played five games, while Jimmy Butler played four games.

However, the Rockets have veteran playoff experience in Fred Vanvleet, Steven Adams and Dillon Brooks, as well as young confidence among the likes of Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Jalen Green.

After winning back-to-back, the 22-year-old Turkish striker Sengun said there was no reason the Rockets could never win another game.

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“I don't think they beat us in this series,” he said. “We beat ourselves, missed free throws and easy shots. When we locked, we got locked. We have all the talent in the world. There's no reason to lose this game.”

BB/JS