Cavaliers Ice Cold Night From Three Proves Costly In Game 1 Loss To Indiana Pacers

The Cleveland Cavaliers shot just 23.7% from three during a 121-112 Game 1 loss to Indiana Pacers who knocked down over 52% of their three-point shots

May 4, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter in game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

As the old saying goes, live by the three and die by the three. The Cleveland Cavaliers died by it during a 121-112 Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The top-seeded wine and gold shot a pitiful 23.7% from deep on Sunday. What really killed the Cavaliers, though, was Indiana shooting a blistering 52.8% from beyond the arc. That included role players like Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, knocking down nine three pointers combined.

It was a perfect storm for the Pacers to pull off an upset and take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Similar to Game 2 of Cleveland's first round series with the Miami Heat, Donovan Mitchell tried his damnedest to will the Cavs to victory, taking over in the third quarter in particular, where he dropped 12 of his 33 points.

A dazzling comeback effort brought Rocket Arena to life over the final 16 minutes or so of regulation. Mitchell's heroics left him gassed in the final stanza, though, he and his Cavaliers teammates simply didn't have enough to finish off what could have been a memorable playoff comeback win.

On a night where the shots weren't falling, it certainly looked like the Cavaliers were missing All-Star point guard Darius Garland, who was ruled out for a third straight game with a sprained toe.

That left much of the scoring burden to Mitchell and Mobley, who combined for 53 points. Mitchell's 33 points actually pushed him past the great Michael Jordan for most Game 1s with 30-plus points in NBA history.

Mobley provided a balanced effort in support of Mitchell, with 20 points and 10 boards. Off the bench, Ty Jerome added 21 on what was an inefficient night shooting overall. Jarrett Allen added 12, De'Andre Hunter 11. Still, not a single player made more than two threes, which ultimately told the story of the game.

There was a rare tenseness felt throughout Rocket Area throughout much of the first quarter. Cleveland looked out of sorts early on. There were bad passes that led to turnovers and an offense that thrives on ball movement and everyone getting involved saw too many possessions ending with iso ball.

It didn't help that the Pacers simply couldn't miss, shooting 66.7% from the floor and from three in the opening stanza. Trying to keep pace the Cavs shot 12 threes of their own, but made only three of them.

It became pretty clear early on that the Pacers were going to sell out to limit the damage from three, while leaving the paint susceptible to cutters and slashers. Cleveland started taking advantage of that in the second quarter, scoring 22 points in the paint to head to the half with 38 in the painted area.

The taking what they were giving strategy helped reduce the Pacers lead to just six at the break, 64-58. That felt like a win in of itself. The glaring discrepancy continued to be the three-point shooting though, as the Pacers went to the break shooting 60 and 60 from the floor and three.

It was more of the same during most of the third quarter as Indiana built the lead to 12 with about 7 minutes to play in the period. Nothing seemed to be going right for the Cavs. Then Donovan Mitchell happened.

It was actually Mobley who gave Cleveland its first lead since early in the first quarter when they led 8-6, with a hook shot to make the score 85-84. Mitchell stole the show, though, scoring 12 points in the third to ensure his team was within striking distance heading into the fourth.

The final period lived up to the billing of an epic NBA Playoff bout, with both teams exchanging blows throughout the first seven to eight minutes of play. After six lead changes, the Pacers finally settled back in, knocking down some critical shots in the final few minutes to pull away and steal Game 1.

For the first time this postseason, the Cavaliers were punched first. For the first time this postseason, the Cavaliers will play from behind. They'll look to deliver a counterpunch in what is now a critical Game 2 on Tuesday.

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