Pacers put pressure on undermanned Cavaliers going into Game 3

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers look to come through in the clutch once again when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Friday in Indianapolis.Haliburton also seems determined to change the narrative after being voted by his peers as the NBA’s most overrated player in an anonymous poll conducted by The Athletic.The All-Star guard made a driving layup in the waning moments of the Pacers’ series-clinching overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Haliburton followed that up by collecting 22 points and 13 assists in the series opener versus top-seeded Cleveland before sinking a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 120-119 victory on Tuesday and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set.The frenzied finish, in which the fourth-seeded Pacers overcame a seven-point deficit in the final minute, was just par for the course in Haliburton’s eyes.”It’s the NBA. Crazier things have happened,” he said. “… We’ve had many games where you could take a screenshot at any moment and be like, ‘How did they win this game?'”We just have a resilient group. We just figure out ways to win. We don’t give up and we’re battle-tested.”Haliburton certainly is battle-tested. In fact, he has a wrap on his left, non-shooting wrist to show for it.”I’m fine,” Haliburton told the Indianapolis Star following Thursday’s practice. “I’ll be fine for the game. I’m all good.”The Pacers would be trending to “all good” status with a victory on Friday. That would put them on the brink of securing a second consecutive conference finals appearance.Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell scored 48 points on 15-for-30 shooting from the floor and 17-of-21 from the free-throw line.Max Strus had 23 points and Jarrett Allen added 22 to go along with 12 rebounds for the undermanned Cavaliers, who played their fourth straight game without All-Star Darius Garland (left big toe sprain).