Tyrese Haliburton Rewrites Pacers Franchise History in Game 1 vs. Cavs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 4, 2025 9:12 PM ET

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers shocked the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The Cavs tasted defeat for the first time in the playoffs as the Pacers stole home-court advantage in this second-round series via an impressive 121-112 win at Rocket Arena.

Haliburton turned in another strong performance in this one, notching a 22-point, 13-assists double-double, to go along with three rebounds, a steal, three blocks and two triples in 36 minutes of action.

Haliburton's outing turned out to be a historic one as the two-time All-Star rewrote the Pacers franchise history books yet again. According to NBA Stats on X, Haliburton's third 20-point, 10-assist double-double is now the most in franchise postseason history.

Tyrese Haliburton tonight:

22 PTS
13 AST

He now has the most 20-PT, 10-AST double-doubles (3) in Pacers postseason franchise history! https://t.co/uRLbl97rfg pic.twitter.com/Skv0g7CuTd
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 5, 2025

Haliburton was an absolute force for Indiana in the first round as they took down Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in their series, 4-1. The 6-foot-5 point guard made sure to keep his foot on the gas in Game 1 against the Cavs, and this led to a statement win for Indiana.

Game 2 will be on Tuesday, and the Pacers will be looking to keep the momentum going. They are now in a great position to upset the Cavs in this series, but another win in Game 2 will give them a major advantage as Games 3 and 4 shift to Indiana.

The Cavs, however, won't be going down without a fight. Donovan Mitchell (33 points on Sunday) will surely do everything in his power to will his team to victory in Game 2, and the Pacers must be ready for what he will bring to the table come Tuesday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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