The Indiana Pacers defeated the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 on Tuesday night with a score of 114-105, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season.
The Pacers were down by as many as 19 points in the first half, but fought back to take the lead in the third quarter behind a 19-2 run. Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points and added eight assists and six rebounds, with Pascal Siakam contributing 21 points in the series-clinching win.
The Pacers will play the winner of the series between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal, to taken 3-2 series lead.
Oklahoma City overcame a strong performance from Denver’s Nikola Jokic (44 points, 15 rebounds), led by the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points, 12 of 23 field goals, and seven assists).
Game 6 is set for Thursday in Denver.
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