Pacers oust top-seeded Cavs, Nuggets on brink

AFP | Los Angeles

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The Indiana Pacers came from behind to send the Cleveland Cavaliers crashing out of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a dazzling Nikola Jokic display to push the Denver Nuggets to the brink of elimination.

Cleveland -- the top seeds in the Eastern Conference -- saw their postseason come to an abrupt halt after Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points to power the Pacers to a 114- 105 victory, sealing a 4-1 series triumph.

Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City grabbed a 112-105 victory over Denver to edge into a 3-2 lead in their titanic duel with the 2023 champions.

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic delivered a towering performance for Denver, the Serbian star finishing with 44 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.

But Jokic’s heroics were in vain as the Thunder -- who had trailed for most of the game -- unleashed a fourth-quarter bombardment to outscore Denver 34-19 and seal a pulsating win.

Jokic’s rival for this season’s MVP award, OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,scored 31 points on a night when six Thunder players finished in double figures.

“Throughout the game it’s full of swings -- you make shots, you miss shots. We just trusted in our principles, and two games in a row now we’ve been able to pull out a W (win),” Gilgeous-Alexander said.