If a casual NBA fan tuned into Sunday's Game 3, they'd have assumed the Pacers won 64 games in the regular season, not the Cavaliers.
Indiana dominated Cleveland from the onset to romp to a 129-109 victory, taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Here, we recap every record Rick Carlisle's men broke en route to the win.
The Pacers were up 80-39 at the end of the first half, tying the previous record set by the Cavaliers in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics. In that game eight years ago, the Cavs were similarly up 41 at the half with a 72-31 lead over the Celtics.
The Pacers had 25 assists to generate 80 first-half points, setting a new postseason record for most dimes in the first 24 minutes (play-by-play era). The impressive part is that Tyrese Haliburton, their floor general, had only four of those assists, as Andrew Nembhard (five), T.J. McConnell (five), Aaron Nesmith (four) and Pascal Siakam (four) all excelled at playmaking duties.
The Pacers became the 10th team in postseason history to score 80 points in a half, setting a franchise record for most points in a half. They scored only 49 points in the second half as they rested their starters against the second-string Cavaliers. One wonders if they could have hit the 150-point mark if the game had been competitive.
Pascal Siakam could not miss on Sunday, shooting 9-of-10 from the floor for 21 points. The Cameroonian became the first Pacer in the 21st century to score 20+ points in a playoff game at 90 percent shooting. The All-Star forward has been a model of efficiency throughout the playoffs, maintaining 57/45/67 shooting splits while averaging 18.6 points.
The Pacers center finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting 4-of-4 from distance, becoming the first player in franchise history to make as many threes at 100 percent shooting in a playoff game. He also broke into the top-five all-time list of centers in playoff threes by a center. Turner has drained 71 threes from 51 playoff games.
Despite their historic night, the Pacers are not taking their eye off the ball. After going up 3-1, Carlisle said his team hasn't "done anything yet."
"We haven't done anything yet."
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 12, 2025
Rick Carlisle says the Pacers "have everything to prove" despite blowing out the Cavs in Game 4 ✍️ pic.twitter.com/6pb4R2uGqv
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