Fans Stunned As Pacers Pull Rabbit Out of Hat vs. Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers looked to have the Indiana Pacers backed into a corner Tuesday night, taking a seven-point lead with 57.1 seconds to go.

When the game ended, the Pacers were 120–119 winners and the Cavaliers were wondering where precisely things had gone wrong. Hampered by an inability to inbound the basketball, Cleveland surrendered a go-ahead three-pointer to Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton with one second to go.

Its suddenness, coming on the heels of two similarly thrilling playoff endings on Monday, had the NBA world buzzing.

Several observers noted the bitterness of the defeat in light of the Cavaliers' injuries.

I just continue to be dumbfounded by how unbelievable these playoffs have been.

What a soul crushing way for the Cavs to go down after looking like they were going to get a win with three of their top seven guys, and two of three All-Stars, out.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 7, 2025

Comparisons to past basketball collapses flew, including to Duke's in this year's men's Final Four.

That was a Duke level collapse. It’s like the Cavs were determined to find a way to lose.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) May 7, 2025

It marked yet another victory for Haliburton, who has used his peers voting him as the NBA's most overrated player as motivation.

#Cavs fans chanted overrated at Tyrese Haliburton all night. He just showed them why Donovan Mitchell was trying to quiet them down.

A dagger over Ty Jerome to steal Game 2 on Cleveland's home court.
— Ethan Sands (@EjElite1) May 7, 2025

Even the world outside of basketball took notice.