Pacers use balanced attack vs. Cavaliers to steal home-court advantage

Tyrese Haliburton led a balanced Pacers offensive attack with 22 points and 13 assists in a 121-112 Game 1 win. Six Pacers scored in double figures, and every starter had at least 13 points as Indiana shot 53 percent from the field and 52.8 percent from three-point range, led by Andrew Nembhard's 5-of-6 effort.

By contrast, the Cavaliers had two of their guards attempt over half of their field goals. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points on 13-of-30 shooting, going 1-of-11 from behind the arc. Ty Jerome had 21 points and shot 8-of-20, while leading the team with eight assists.

Mitchell had only four assists, though the Cavs offense was cooking in the third quarter when he started setting up his big men for dunks.

Ultimately, the Pacers' hot shooting, teamwork (30 assists) and ability to hang with the bigger Cavaliers on the boards (the teams each grabbed 43 rebounds) were enough to overcome a huge turnover disparity. Making ten more three-pointers overcame their 16 turnovers, as did Indiana's nine blocked shots, including three from Haliburton, who blocked two shots in the final 2:36.

Though none was as impressive as Bennedict Mathurin (11 points) and his emphatic rejection of De'Andre Hunter.

The series might become very different when and if Cleveland's Darius Garland returns from a toe injury. But until it does, the Pacers have reclaimed home-court advantage and put a serious scare into the Cavs. The two teams split their two matchups, where both teams were full-strength, but the Cavaliers will need to take four of the next six to keep their dream season going.