NBA Playoffs: Cleveland Close to the Exit, Oklahoma Revived

Oklahoma City struggles but equalizes. Struggling offensively, the Thunder finally won on the Denver court (87-92) to return to 2-2 in the series. Less than 48 hours after their last meeting, the two teams struggled to settle in a game that began at 1:30 p.m. local time, with the Thunder leading only 36-33 at halftime, while both teams had each shot 3 of 22 from distance.

OKC had a 15-point lead but saw Denver come back and even take the lead thanks to a strong third quarter, without the home team being able to get more than an eight-point lead. The Thunder bench made the difference early in the fourth quarter, thanks to baskets from Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was able to make an impact at the end of the game, but the MVP candidate was less efficient than usual (25 points on 8 of 19 shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 turnovers).

"We got stops, we held them to 18 points in the last quarter," appreciated the Canadian point guard. "They obviously came back very aggressive after the break, jumped on us, but salvation always comes through defense for us. That put us back on track and we were able to achieve this victory." Initially well contained by the opposing defense, Nikola Jokic finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds. "We have to congratulate them, in an absolutely disgusting basketball game they continued to play, try things, to end up winning," acknowledged Nuggets coach David Adelman. Game 5 will take place Tuesday in Oklahoma.

The Indiana Pacers destroyed the Cleveland Cavaliers in two quarters, trailing by a devastating 80-39 margin at halftime and a final 129-109, and now lead 3-1, one win away from a surprise spot in the conference finals like last year. The Pacers started the game strong, accelerated even more before halftime, and finished smoothly with the substitutes for a historic victory, matching the record margin of victory in a playoff game at halftime (a meeting between Cleveland and Boston in 2017).

After 24 minutes, Indiana posted the indecent statistics of 12 of 18 from three-point range and 30 of 50 from the field (25 assists) against the powerless Cavaliers, a far cry from the brilliance of their 64-win (18-loss) regular season. The incandescent crowd reveled in the incessant baskets of their team in a basketball game like a boxing match between two hitters not belonging to the same category. Myles Turner was formidable (20 points on 4 of 4 from long range) with Pascal Siakam (21 points), before letting the substitutes like Obi Toppin (20 points) express themselves.

Another black mark for the Cavaliers was Donovan Mitchell (12 points), who did not return in the second half due to an ankle injury. He will have to undergo an MRI on Monday, said his coach Kenny Atkinson. "It was total domination on their part, in every aspect of the game," said the Cavs coach, voted the NBA's best coach of the season. "They took their game to a whole new level, we were not able to face that. We try to prepare for these things, mentally, but for some reason they were at a higher level. It was physical domination, we had to develop our attacks at half court because they were pushing us back, we were never able to reach our usual shooting positions."

The Pacers weren't even bothered by the quick ejection of their guard, forward Bennedict Mathurin, who hit and then provoked De'Andre Hunter, who responded by violently shoving the Canadian, the American forward receiving a simple technical foul. The Cavaliers are on the verge of elimination before hosting Game 5 on Tuesday in Ohio.