Pacers, one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals

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La Jornada Newspaper, Monday, May 12, 2025, p. a33

Indianapolis. Pascal Siakam scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by taking a 41-point halftime lead before defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109. The result gives them a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Pacers can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive time with a victory tomorrow in Cleveland, where they won the first two games. At Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the home team managed to defeat their opponent virtually without Benedict Mathurin, one of their leading scorers at this stage of the tournament, as he was ejected just 7.5 minutes into the game for a flagrant foul.

Darius Garland led the visitors with 21 points, and Donovan Mitchell scored 17 despite missing the second half with a left ankle injury. Coach Kenny Atkinson announced that his star point guard would undergo an MRI today.