Haliburton’s ice-cold 24-foot step-back three with just 1.1 seconds left on the clock completed a remarkable comeback from fourth seeds Indiana and leaves Cleveland in a daunting position as the best-of-seven series heads back to Indianapolis.
Donovan Mitchell had almost single-handedly dragged an injury-depleted Cleveland to victory with a masterful performance, scoring 48 points in a game the Cavs led by 20 points midway through the third quarter.
But Cleveland, missing injured starters Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter, wilted visibly down the stretch as a dogged Pacers line-up refused to roll over and steadily chipped away at the Cavaliers’ lead.
Cleveland forward Max Strus looked to have put the Cavs on course for victory after draining his fifth three-pointer of the night to put the home side 117-110 up with just over a minute remaining.
Indiana, though, closed with a 10-2 run in the final minute, culminating with Haliburton’s winning three in the final seconds to set the seal on a sensational fightback.
“Cleveland hit us with a punch early in the game and it was difficult to get the ball over half court, let alone score,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards.
“We played from behind the whole game. But in the fourth quarter we just hung in there,” he added. “We’ve been in a lot of these situations down the stretch this season. Our group has a belief in one another and we just keep executing and keep playing.”
Pacers point guard Haliburton finished with 19 points while Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner scored 23 points apiece. Six Indiana players finished in double figures.
Mitchell’s 48-point performance was backed by Strus with 23 points while Jarrett Allen added 22.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said his team had “ran out of gas.”
“We outplayed them for most of the game,” Atkinson said. “We couldn’t really separate ourselves. Every possession, they just upped their physicality. We ran out of gas.”
“But with fatigue comes decision-making, and we had some poor decision-making. That was part of the collapse,” he added.
Game three in the series takes place in Indianapolis on Friday. (AFP)
