The Cleveland Cavaliers finally looked like the Eastern Conference’s top team on Friday.<\/p>\n
After getting stunned in the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers, the Cavaliers took care of business with a 126-104 win in Game 3<\/a> in front of a hostile Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd. The Pacers still lead the series 2-1.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Donovan Mitchell posted his second straight 40-point game to get Cleveland there, finishing with 43 points on 14-of-29 shooting, plus nine rebounds and five assists.<\/p>\n A pivotal Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Indiana (TNT\/Max).<\/p>\n Cavaliers get healthy, and off to a strong start<\/p>\n As it turns out, a team getting back the NBA Defensive Player of the year, their starting point guard and top bench scorer is something of a boost.<\/p>\n The Cavaliers were without Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter for Game 2 due to injuries, leaving them without three of their top four scorers<\/a>. The team responded by leaning on Mitchell more than ever, which resulted in him posting a 48-point night \u2014 and looking absolutely gassed in the disastrous final minutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n All three were ready to go for Game 3, and. helped Cleveland open the game on a tone-setting 11-0 run. The Pacers bounced back enough to tie the game at the end of the first quarter, but another run put the Cavaliers up double-digits for good.<\/p>\n With Mobley back in particular, the Cavaliers were able to play something closer to their game. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers were up 58-34 in the rebounding column and 48-32 in points in the paint thanks to their twin-tower set-up of Mobley (18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals, three blocks) alongside Jarrett Allen (19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists).<\/p>\n Quiet game for Tyrese Haliburton<\/p>\n It would have been hard for Tyrese Haliburton to match his heroics from Game 2, but the Pacers point guard was completely shut down on Friday.<\/p>\n