Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Pacers didn't beat Cavaliers, they snatched their souls

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 14, 2025 8:13 AM ET

The Cavaliers strung together win streaks of 16, 15 and 12 en route to a 64-18 record. But when the lights grew brighter, they showed their true colors, proving to be a fraudulent regular-season team.

It's one thing to get bested in nail-biting contests. It's another to be routed. The Cavs lost four games by an average margin of 9.75 points, and never once seemed in control, even when they held leads.

In Tuesday's season-ending loss, for example, the Cavs were up 44-25 in the second quarter, but everyone watching the game knew the Pacers were one hot run away from storming back, which they did. By the end of the half, the Pacers had cut the deficit to four, creating enough momentum to land the 33-20 knockout blow in the third quarter.

After the loss, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell was so shell-shocked that he returned to the bench and sat by his lonesome, possibly reflecting on where things went awry for his squad.

Cavs star Donovan Mitchell came back out of locker room and sat on bench one last time after game — and season — ended. (Pic: @TheKennyRoda) pic.twitter.com/pSFH6ZmuR3
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) May 14, 2025

"Just couldn't believe it. Didn't wanna believe it. Still don't wanna believe it," Mitchell said of returning to the court. "It's tough.... I love playing in that arena, man. That energy, that crowd. We went 0 and three at home. We let the city down."

The guard admitted it "especially hurts" to lose all three home games after maintaining a conference-best 34-7 home record in the regular season.

Mitchell sounded like a man whose soul was snatched, and understandably so. The Pacers played with an audacity that caught the Cavaliers off guard, and the No. 1 seed had no response.

Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said his team "weren't on the level" of the Pacers, a shocking admission for a team many picked to win the East.

Ultimately, Cleveland's loss proves the NBA's regular season is meaningless. The Cavs were rewarded with three All-Star selections, in addition to Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors. Just one All-Star, Pascal Siakam, represented the Pacers, and they steamrolled the team that got a bunch of futile accolades.

Cleveland’s run this season comes to an end:

- 1-Seed in the East
- Led NBA in Offensive Rating
- 3 All-Stars (Mitchell, Mobley, Garland)
- Evan Mobley DPOY, Kenny Atkinson COY

Where does this Cavs squad go from here? pic.twitter.com/CnL2M9Sk9M
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 14, 2025

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

More must-reads: