OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) \u2014 The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need of wins as they host Game 5s in the conference semifinals on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City might have saved its season with a 92-87 win at Denver<\/a> on Sunday that tied the Western Conference series at two wins apiece. The Thunder finally won a close game in the series on Sunday after losing Game 1 on a last-second shot and Game 3 in overtime.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we fought, stayed the course, played the game,\u201d Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. \u201cEspecially in this series, it\u2019s been so random almost. It\u2019s throwing different things at us. I think we\u2019ve been able to stay the course and it gave us a chance late. We closed it out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Thunder regained the homecourt advantage they worked so hard to get in a franchise-best 68-14 regular season. But lose on Tuesday, and they head to Denver down 3-2 and facing elimination.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean there\u2019s no relief at all,\u201d Thunder forward Chet Holmgren said after Sunday\u2019s win. \u201cIt\u2019s still a really competitive series with a good team on the other side. There\u2019s no relaxing until … There\u2019s just no relaxing.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleveland, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 regular-season record, is on the brink of elimination after being blown out 129-109 at Indiana<\/a> to fall behind 3-1.<\/p>\n The Pacers, who reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, know there\u2019s work ahead to return.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be able to go into hostile territory and be able to stay focused,\u201d Pacers center Myles Turner said. \u201cI think that people are going to start talking about us now, \u2018We\u2019re this, we\u2019re this, we\u2019re that.\u2019 We\u2019ve got to keep our heads down, keep our blinders on and just keep rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 5, 7 p.m. EDT (TNT)<\/p>\n Series: Pacers lead, 3-1<\/p>\n BetMGM Sportsbook: Cavaliers by 7.5.<\/p>\n What to Know: Cleveland All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell\u2019s status is unclear for Tuesday\u2019s game after he injured his left ankle during Game 4. He was limited to 12 points in 20 minutes and sat out the second half after the Cavaliers fell behind 80-39. He had an MRI on Monday. Mitchell scored 48 points in Game 2 and 43 points in Game 3 before being limited in Game 4. Cleveland\u2019s Darius Garland scored 21 points in Game 4, but he\u2019s still recovering from a toe injury. Indiana won the first two games in Cleveland, and the Pacers are 3-1 on the road in this year\u2019s playoffs. The Pacers tied an NBA playoff record<\/a> with a 41-point halftime lead in Game 4. Indiana has scored at least 120 points in all three wins.<\/p>\n Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 5, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)<\/p>\n Series: Tied, 2-2<\/p>\n BetMGM Sportsbook: Thunder by 9.5.<\/p>\n What to Know: Oklahoma City has bothered Denver\u2019s Nikola Jokic more than most. In his past three games, the three-time league MVP has been limited to 21.3 points per game on 33.3% shooting from the field and 18.2% shooting from 3-point range. He exploded for 42 points and 22 rebounds in Game 1. He also has had some foul issues, with five in Game 1, fouling out of Game 2 and committing four in Game 4. Jaylin Williams, a backup center, appears to have done the best job of pestering him. Oklahoma City\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 33.5 points and shot 59% in the home games this series and 21.5 points on 36.6% shooting on the road.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n