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The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the Eastern Conference semifinals with aspirations of proving themselves as legitimate NBA title contenders. Instead, Game 1 served as a sobering reality check. In a 121-112 home loss to the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers, the Cavs not only dropped their first game of the 2025 NBA Playoffs but also lost the defensive identity that had powered their dominant first-round sweep of Miami.
From the opening tip, it was clear this wasn’t the same matchup. The Pacers are not the Heat, and they made sure the Cavs knew it.
“They outplayed us,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said bluntly. “Gotta give them credit, simple as that.”
The Cavs, a team that prides itself on defense-first basketball, looked a step slow, disorganized, and reactive for most of the night. Indiana’s pace, spacing, and surgical execution exploited Cleveland’s habits, particularly their tendency to overhelp. Tyrese Haliburton, the engine behind Indiana’s offense, dictated tempo and relentlessly punished every misstep. His 22 points and 13 assists were only part of the story, with his command unraveling the Cavs’ defensive system.
Cleveland rotated late. They lunged on closeouts. The Cavs were beaten in transition and outmaneuvered in the halfcourt. Indiana’s five-out system and pinpoint ball movement left Cleveland scrambling, and the result was a barrage of threes from deep. Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin combined for 12 of them, most of which were wide open.
“Took us a while to figure out their speed,” Atkinson admitted. “In the beginning, they had us kind of in the blender a little bit. And then their shot-making was otherworldly.”
Offensively, the Cavs were hampered by the absence of All-Star guard Darius Garland, missing his third straight game with a sprained toe. Donovan Mitchell carried the load with a game-high 33 points, but it came on weary legs, going 13-of-30 from the field and just 1-of-11 from three. He looked visibly fatigued by the fourth quarter, trying to orchestrate the comeback and play both ends.
This loss to the Pacers stings for the Cavs
Mitchell’s efforts, including a spirited third-quarter push where Cleveland stormed back from a 12-point deficit to briefly take the lead, weren’t enough. The Cavs outscored Indiana 30-22 in the third, rediscovering their defensive edge through crisper rotations and aggressive coverage. Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro provided a defensive jolt. Evan Mobley, presented with his Defensive Player of the Year trophy pregame, had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
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But in the fourth quarter, all that energy the Cavs had accumulated had dissipated. The Pacers, unshaken, responded with poise. Nembhard drilled clutch threes. Myles Turner added a buzzer-beater to close the third and a putback layup to help seal the win. Indiana finished the game on a 21-10 run, while Cleveland missed crucial shots and reverted to bad habits defensively.
“They came in here and handled business,” said Mitchell. “We would love to go 16-0, but that’s not how this works. Nothing to hang our heads about. We’ll be fine and we’ll be better.”
The loss stings not only because it ends Cleveland’s perfect playoff run or because homecourt advantage is now gone, but because it exposed the gap between the Cavs' potential and performance when their defense doesn’t show up for four quarters.
To make matters worse, the physical toll of the game added to Cleveland’s concern. Atkinson noted postgame that several players, including De’Andre Hunter, were banged up. Mitchell himself looked worn down from carrying such a heavy burden for the Cavs without Garland.
Now, facing a 1-0 deficit in a best-of-seven, the Cavs find themselves at a familiar crossroads. They haven't reached the Eastern Conference Finals without LeBron James since 1992 — and if Sunday night was any indication, they'll need a far more complete effort to keep that dream alive.
The Pacers played like the more mature, composed, and connected team. Cleveland must now regroup, refocus, and rediscover their defensive roots or risk watching another postseason slip away.
Game 2 for the Cavs is already shaping up to be a gut check.
