The Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers had a lot of rest before Game 1 of their second-round series that got underway on Monday night. Despite the Cavs coming in as a heavy favorite to win the series, the Pacers marched into Cleveland and stole Game 1 with a stellar performance on offense in a 121-112 victory to get out ahead in the series.

The Cavaliers played this game without Darius Garland in the backcourt, and he was dearly missed. However, the Cavs lost this game because they struggled to guard the Pacers and get stops all night. Like it usually does, Tyrese Haliburton had everything to do with that.

Haliburton had a masterful game, controlling the flow and the tempo when Indiana had the ball all night long. The star point guard finished with 22 points and 13 assists on 9-for-15 shooting. He also turned the ball over just one time in 36 minutes despite controlling everything that happened when the Pacers had the ball.

Nobody is mistaking Haliburton for an elite defender, but he also added a steal and three blocks in the win.  He became the first Pacers player with at least 22 points, 13 assists, three blocks, and a steal in a playoff game. according to ESPN's Jamal Collier.

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“It gives us a lot of momentum, for sure, and you can definitely feel good about it for the night,” Haliburton said after the game, per Collier. “But this is the best team in our conference. They play very hard. They don't lose a ton, so they're going to respond. We got to be prepared for that going into Game 2.”

Now, the pressure is on the top-seeded Cavs, who dominated the rest of the Eastern Conference during the regular season. The Pacers have a chance to really take control of the series with another win in Game 2 on the road, so the Cavaliers will have to make adjustments to slow Haliburton and company down and even the series.

The Cavs are also still missing Darius Garland, which is a big subplot in this series at the moment. If the star point guard on the other side is forced to miss any more time, Haliburton has a massive advantage at that spot, and it could swing the series in Indiana's favor.