Late game situations cost the Indiana Pacers an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the level of play that led them to a controversial final call was present throughout the game. The Pacers looked good early, notching a 13-13 tie with the Cavs halfway through the first, but stumbled from that point, getting outscored by six heading into the second after a J.R. Smith 60-foot heave to end the first was good.
Cleveland did a good job building on that finish to the quarter, jumping all over the Pacers in the second, with Jordan Clarkson getting hot to push the Cavs up 49-33 halfway through.