The Indiana Pacers was the first team to make the leap into the NBA Conference Finals and ensured that from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pacers defeated the favorite Cavaliersthe best main round team of the Eastern Conferencewith 114: 105 and decided Best-of-Seven-Series with 4: 1 for themselves. Tyresfe Haliburton, as the best thrower of the Pacers, contributed significantly to success with 31 points, Pascal Siakam contributed 21 points.
“We are talking about eight more victories for an NBA championship”, said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle after led his team to the final round of the Eastern Conference for the second time in a row: “The league is very open this year. There are a lot of great teams, but everything is open. We just have to continue to believe in ourselves.”
Mitchell towered over again
At the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell once again towered over with 35 points, but he could not prevent the bankruptcy either. Cleveland ended the main round as the leader of the Eastern Conference and started the series as a favorite.
In the first round, the team around Mitchell had the Sweep against Miami Heat done and set up a record. The best-of-Seven series against Miami went to the Cavs with a total of 122 points, the previous record had set up Denver 2009 against New Orleans (+121).
Indiana now meets the defending champion Boston Celtics or the New York Knicksthat are 3-1 in the series.
| Game | Last game | Stood in the series |
|---|---|---|
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks | 113: 121 | 1: 3 |
Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers | 105: 114 | 1: 4 |
| Game | Last game | Stood in the series |
|---|---|---|
Oklahoma City Thunder – Denver Nuggets | 112: 105 | 3: 2 |
Minnesota Timberwolves – Golden State Warriors | 117: 110 | 3: 1 |