The Indiana Pacers will host the best team in the East in the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for Game 3 of the semifinal series with a 2-0 lead after taking their second away game. The Pacers pulled off a phenomenal comeback to win 120:119.

Trailing 112:119 with 57.6 seconds left in regulation, Indiana didn't give up and shocked the Cavaliers with a series of successful shots. The key one came 1.1 seconds before the end of regulation time, when Tyrese Halliburton took responsibility and buried the opponent with a decisive three-pointer. He finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Bennedict Mathurin also scored 19 off the bench. Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner each scored 23 points for the winners, with the center also making 5 blocks. Andrew Nembhard had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists, and Pascal Siakam finished with 12 points.

Indiana managed to win despite a strong game by Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 48 points, 5 steals, 9 assists and 4 steals. Max Strus scored 23 points, Jarrett Allen finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Sam Merrill added 14 points off the bench, but their efforts were not enough and Cleveland must make a serious turnaround in the series if they want to reach the conference finals.

Game number 3 is in Indianapolis on Friday night.

In another playoff game, the Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 99-88 on the road in the first meeting between the two teams in the West. Buddy Hield, like in the seventh matchup with the Houston Rockets, was the most productive for the Warriors with 24 points. However, Golden State lost their big star Steph Curry, who left the court in the second quarter and never returned due to a hamstring problem. It is still unclear whether Curry will play more in the series, as he will undergo an MRI today. The second game is on Thursday.

Interestingly, all four semifinal series started with victories for the visiting teams as, in addition to Indiana and Golden State, the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets already did the same against the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder respectively. | BGNES