The Indiana Pacers go for a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pacers swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in Rocket Arena, 121-112 in Game 1, and in a crazy 120-119 decision in Game 2. Both teams have injury concerns: Haliburton has a heavily taped left wrist, and the Cavs will have three key players back — Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter.
Dustin Dopirak has the best Pacers coverage and keep up with IndyStar’s Pacers newsletter. We will have score updates and highlights throughout, so make sure you refresh.
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.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) May 10, 2025
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.
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.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) May 10, 2025
End 1Q, Pacers 32, Cavaliers 32: Ben Sheppard hits a 3 with 1 second left, rallying Indiana from a 15-point deficit.
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.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) May 10, 2025
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.
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.
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.
10:26 left 1Q, Cavaliers 6, Pacers 0: Cleveland has a couple of offensive rebounds. Timeout, Pacers.
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 9Dustin 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.”
“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 114Fox Sports: Cavaliers 119, Pacers 114
Pacers:Â Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) is out.
Cavaliers: Darius Garland (toe), Evan Mobley (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (thumb) are questionable.
(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:Â 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
TV:Â ESPN. No games in this series are on FanDuel Sports Network.
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 BetMGMÂ
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.
Game 3 Pacers tickets start at $121 on StubHub.
Look for Pacers tickets on StubHub
(with series averages)
Pascal Siakam (14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 62.5% free throws)Tyrese Haliburton (20.5 points, 8.5 assists, 2.0 blocked shots, 50% 3-pointers)Myles Turner (18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 37.5% 3-pointers)Aaron Nesmith (20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots, 64.3% 3-pointers)Andrew Nembhard (18.0 points, 9.5 assists, 50% 3-pointers)Donovan Mitchell (40.5 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 11.1% 3-pointers, 23-of-30 free throws)Darius Garland (Has not played)Evan Mobley (1 game; 20 points, 2-of-5 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, 2 steals)Jarrett Allen (17.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocked shots, 81.3% shooting, 8-of-8 free throws)Max Strus (15.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 35% 3-pointers)