CLEVELAND (AP) \u2014 Indiana coach Rick Carlisle put it best in summing up his team\u2019s finishing punch in the Eastern Conference semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe winning team writes the script,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Pacers\u2019 114-105 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Tuesday night was similar to the first two games of the series. Cleveland jumped out to a big first-half lead, but Indiana\u2019s quick tempo eventually took a toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to give our guys credit, they earned this,\u201d Carlisle said. \u201cThis was one of the best teams in the league. I\u2019m sorry their season had to end like this. They had the perfect season, and we came along and were hot at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points and Pascal Siakam added 21 as the Pacers reached the conference finals in consecutive years for the first time since 2013-14.<\/p>\n
Donovan Mitchell, who missed the second half of Sunday\u2019s game due to a sprained left ankle, led Cleveland with 35 points. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds.<\/p>\n
The top-seeded Cavs swept their first-round series against Miami, but were unable to match up against the up-tempo Pacers. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were not favored in one game. The lowest point spread was 5\u00bd. That was something that fueled our guys, too,\u201d Carlisle said.<\/p>\n
The fourth-seeded Pacers will now await the winner of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. New York leads 3-1 with Game 5 on Wednesday night in Boston.<\/p>\n
Indiana rallied from a 19-point deficit in the first half and took control after halftime and won all three games at Cleveland\u2019s Rocket Arena.<\/p>\n
It was the first time since a 2005 first-round series against Boston that the Pacers won three road games in a playoff series.<\/p>\n
The Cavs dropped three home games in a postseason series for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love playing in this arena, man. We\u2019re 0-3 at home. We let the city down,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis place is special. What hurts is that we didn\u2019t get it done at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cleveland stormed out to a 44-25 lead with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter, but Haliburton had five of his six 3-pointers in the period as the Pacers got within 56-52 at halftime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t panic after that rough start to the first quarter. We talked about how we knew that they were going to throw a haymaker there. But I thought we weathered the storm the right way and got going from there,\u201d Haliburton said.<\/p>\n
Indiana then shot 14 of 22 from the field in the third quarter, when it had a 17-2 run, to go up 85-76 going into the final 12 minutes.<\/p>\n
The Cavs shot 38.9% for the game and were a woeful 9 of 35 on 3-pointers. Mitchell and Darius Garland were a combined 12 of 41, including 4 of 19 from beyond the arc. <\/p>\n
Mitchell\u2019s 3-pointer got the Cavs within 106-103 with 1:27 remaining, but Indiana closed it out by scoring eight of the final 10 points.<\/p>\n
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