The defining moment of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season arrived in Game 4, and the weight of it broke them. What was billed as a pivotal showdown in the Eastern Conference Semifinals turned into a devastating unraveling. The Indiana Pacers pummeled the Cavs 129-109 in Game 4, seizing a 3-1 series lead and leaving Cleveland on the edge of elimination. What’s worse, Cleveland’s best player, Donovan Mitchell, exited at halftime with a left ankle injury and never returned.
With their season hanging in the balance, the Cavs delivered their most lifeless performance of the year.
This was more than just a loss. It was an indictment of preparation, of toughness, of coaching, of composure. Everything that had once made Cleveland the top seed in the East was nowhere to be found in Game 4.
The Cavs were overwhelmed from the start. Indiana scored the first five points and never looked back, steamrolling to a 38-23 lead by the end of the first quarter. Cleveland made just four field goals in the opening 12 minutes and looked completely disoriented against Indiana’s pace and ball movement. And as the Pacers kept applying pressure, the Cavs continued to have no answer.
A tense exchange between Bennedict Mathurin and De’Andre Hunter with 4:32 left in the first quarter, which resulted in Mathurin’s ejection, briefly stirred emotions. But any hopes of a Cleveland surge evaporated immediately. Rather than using the moment as a spark, the Cavs wilted. Indiana responded with even more urgency, as Obi Toppin emerged off the bench to fuel a blistering second quarter.
By halftime, the Pacers had outscored Cleveland 42-16 in the second quarter, turning a competitive contest into a historic blowout. The Cavs trailed 80-39 at the break, matching the largest halftime deficit in NBA playoff history.
At the center of that collapse was the stunning absence of Mitchell, who injured his ankle during halftime warmups. Hobbled earlier in the series by a calf strain, the All-Star guard attempted to test the injury before the third quarter but couldn’t continue. He finished with just 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting in 20 minutes.
The Cavs lost their edge before the second half even began
Mitchell’s departure sucked whatever fight was left out of the Cavs.
From that point on, the game became a slow march toward inevitability. The Cavs never got closer than 20 the rest of the night. Coach Kenny Atkinson waved the white flag early in the fourth quarter, sending in deep reserves while the Pacers’ crowd, loud and unrelenting, began chanting, “We want Boston,” in anticipation of a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup.
Cleveland’s stars fell silent. Evan Mobley, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, contributed just 10 points. Jarrett Allen posted two points and two rebounds in a forgettable 20-minute stint. Darius Garland led the team with 21 points, but his production came in a game long out of reach.
Meanwhile, Indiana showcased the kind of depth and cohesion that has defined its run. Pascal Siakam led the way with 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, while Myles Turner and Toppin each chipped in 20. Tyrese Haliburton orchestrated with surgical precision, and the Pacers’ bench brought sustained energy all night.
This wasn’t a matter of hot shooting or one big quarter. It was four quarters of physical, emotional, and psychological dominance. Indiana was faster, smarter, tougher. They dictated everything.
Cleveland has now lost three of the first four games in this series, each defeat more damning than the last. What once looked like a promising postseason path has turned into a cautionary tale.
With Mitchell’s status uncertain and morale shattered, Game 5 back in Cleveland feels less like an opportunity and more like a formality. Unless the Cavs summon resilience, belief, urgency, something they haven’t shown all series, their season, one filled with hope and ambition, will end not with a fight, but a whimper.
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