Tyrese Haliburton Stabs Cavs' Hopes: NBA Playoffs Witness Another Epic Dagger

The Indiana Pacers were behind the Cleveland Cavaliers By age 20 at some stage during Game 2 of their encounter in the second round of the 2025 playoffs. NBA Playoffs The Cavaliers had lost Game 1 and were missing their injured star players Darius Garland and Evan Mobley (along with crucial bench contributor De'Andre Hunter). Winning this game would have been essential for Cleveland's playoff hopes and might have provided some much-needed time to recover from injuries.

The Pacers kept chipping away in the fourth quarter, but it seemed like they were going to run out of time. When Donovan Mitchell sank a pair of free throws with under 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Cleveland led by seven. Seems secure enough, right? Not against Indiana.

The Pacers shocked the Cavaliers with a narrow 120-119 victory in yet another exciting second-round game. The evening following this match was particularly dramatic. Aaron Gordon’s decisive move left the Thunder shocked. Tyrese Haliburton countered with an equally impressive play to propel his team towards an unlikely victory.

The Cavaliers had possession of the ball for an inbound play leading by three points with only 27 seconds remaining. However, Andrew Nembhard intercepted a poor pass from Max Strus, putting the Pacers on the fast break. Haliburton received the ball, charged towards the hoop, and managed to draw a foul from the referees. After making his initial free throw attempt, he narrowed Cleveland’s lead down to just two points with 12 seconds still on the clock.

Then things got wild: Haliburton missed the second free throw, recovered his own offensive rebound, and dribbled the ball out to the top of the key before ripping a nasty step-back jumper to give Indiana the win. Watch the play here:

Haliburton was identified as the most overrated player according to a poll conducted by The Athletic only a few weeks ago. Now he has his Pacers on the verge of consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals after stealing the first two games of the second round in Cleveland.

Haliburton finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and zero turnovers in the win on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Indiana’s furious comeback was made possible by the physical two-way play of Aaron Nesmith (23 points, three blocks) and Myles Turner (23 points, five blocks). The Pacers were sloppy with the ball all night (18 turnovers), got beat on the offensive glass, and shot six fewer free throws, but somehow clawed their way back to rip out Cleveland’s heart at the buzzer.

Donovan Mitchell had an outstanding performance with 48 points. Throughout the season, the Cavaliers have been dominant in the Eastern Conference, but things could not be more challenging for them as they find themselves trailing 0-2 in the second round. Darius Garland has sat out both matches due to a sprained toe, Evan Mobley is also sidelined because of a twisted ankle, and now they face the prospect of starting their next game from behind against the Pacers.

It’s a shame Cleveland’s dream season could end this way. Just know Indiana took it from them.