Full-strength Cavaliers blow out Pacers in Game 3 to cut series deficit to 2-1

Donovan Mitchell had 43 points and nine rebounds, and the finally full-strength Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana, 126-104, on Friday night to cut the Pacers’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The road team has won all three games in the series, and the Pacers will have another chance to break that trend Sunday in Game 4.

Cleveland was desperate to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole and used everything in its arsenal to hold on this time — making 14 3-pointers, holding a 56-37 rebounding edge, even relying on zone defense to slow down the high-scoring Pacers.

With NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, All-Star guard Darius Garland and key backup De’Andre Hunter all suited up after missing Game 2, Mitchell got the support he needed.

Max Strus made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Three other Cleveland players also scored in double figures on a night the Cavs led by as much as 26, never trailed and managed to protect their late lead when the Pacers cut the deficit to 11 early in the fourth.

Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 points. Pascal Siakam had 18 and Tyrese Haliburton finished with four points and five assists in his first career home loss in a postseason game he’s appeared in.

The most physical of the three games resulted in players routinely sprawled on the floor. Hunter turned into a hard shoulder after making a basket early in the second quarter, a collision that nearly knocked him down, and Mitchell took a nasty spill into the front-row seats while being called for an offensive foul.

Tempers also flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls, one for a delay of game.

On the court, though, Cleveland controlled most of the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 run that helped push the Cavs to a 66-45 halftime cushion.

Indiana cut it to 80-65 midway through the third quarter and looked ready to pull off another fourth-quarter rally when Siakam’s 3 with 8:24 to play made it 104-93. But Mitchell and Strus answered with back-to-back 3s to lead a game-sealing charge.

Reporting by The Associated Press

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