The Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by building a 41-point halftime lead Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 80-39 lead matched the previous mark set by the Cavs in Game 2 of the 2017 conference finals against Boston, according to Sportradar. And the Pacers did it despite having one of their top scorers, Bennedict Mathurin, ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul less than eight minutes into the game.
It’s also the 10th time in playoff history any team has scored 80 points in a half. Oklahoma City did it most recently, with 87 points in Game 2 against Denver earlier this week.
The Pacers dominated the first two quarters, shooting 60% from the field and making 12 of 18 3-pointers while posting 25 assists. Cleveland shot 25% from the field, had only three assists and only three players with more than one made basket.
Indiana tied the record on Aaron Nesmith‘s buzzer-beating mid-range jumper to close the half.
The Pacers hold a 2-1 lead in the series, which moves to Cleveland on Tuesday for Game 5.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
National Basketball Association
Indiana Pacers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
This article was originally published at www.foxsports.com
