Donovan Mitchell scores 43 and Cavaliers beat the Pacers 126-104 to cut series deficit to 2-1

INDIANAPOLIS -- — Donovan Mitchell refused to let another fourth-quarter lead slip away from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So with home fans on their feet, expecting their Indiana Pacers to cut what had been a 24-point deficit to single digits, Mitchell took the game into his own hands. He hit a 13-foot fadeaway, then a pull-up 3-pointer and finally found Max Strus for another 3 and the Cavaliers went on to a 126-104 victory Friday night.

“I couldn't let it happen again, and it wasn't just me,” Mitchell said after finishing with 43 points and nine rebounds to cut their semifinal series deficit to 2-1. “I know I scored, but like, we got stops, made plays. But for me, just trying to be the aggressor.”

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

But Cleveland was desperate to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole and used everything in its arsenal to hold on Friday.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and key backup De'Andre Hutner returned from injuries after missing Game 2. All-Star guard Darius Garland also returned from a toe injury that kept him out of four straight games.

The Cavs also reverted more to the regular-season form by making 14 3-pointers, holding a 56-37 rebounding edge, even using zone defense to slow down the high-flying Pacers.

But it was Mitchell's finishing punch that stood apart.

“The first one was a selfish shot, but he needed to be selfish there — you know what I'm saying,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He just felt like ‘I need it, I need to score this one even if it's not the perfect shot.' And that's kind of feel of the moment."

Strus made four 3s and had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a game the Cavs never trailed.

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

“This was a very poor effort at the beginning of the game, through so many parts of the game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Clearly, I didn’t have these guys ready for this. Ty had a rough game. I have to do more to get him in better positions to have better shots.”

The most physical game of the three resulted in players routinely hitting 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.

Tempers also flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls. On the court, though, Cleveland controlled the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 run, which gave them a 66-45 halftime cushion.

Indiana closed to 104-93 early in the fourth before Mitchell and Strus led the game-sealing scoring flurry.

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