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Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher
CLEVELAND, Ohio— After losing Games 1 and 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers 126-104 Friday night at the the Gamebridge Fieldhouse arena in downtown Indianapolis, winning Game 3 of Round 2 of the 2025 Eastern Conference playoffs, a best-of-seven-games series leading up to their quest to win the Conference Finals and, ultimately, the NBA Finals.
The NBA playoffs are presented by Google, an Internet giant, and one of the BIG Four tech companies.
The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, Cleveland outdid the Miami Heat with a four-game sweep in Round 1, but struggled in Games 1 and 2 of Round 2 against the Pacers, the series now 2-1, Pacers, after Cleveland's most-needed win on Friday.
The Cavs led throughout the game, with key players Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and DeAndre Hunter returning for Game 3 after being sidelined for Game 2 due to injuries. All five starters for the Cavs (Garland, Mobley, Allen, Strus, and Mitchell) were in double digits by halftime, where Cleveland led by 18 points. The lead increased to 25 points in the fourth quarter with 4:00 minutes to go, but in the end, the Pacers still lost.
Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell carried the Cavs in Games 1 and 2, both offensively and defensively, and scored 36 points Friday night, followed by Evan Mobley with 18, and Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter with 10 points apiece.
Game 4 is Sun., May 11 in Indianapolis.
Led by head coach Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers have their eyes on the NBA Championship trophy, and so do Cleveland fans, Cleveland a largely Black major American city and the second largest city in Ohio, behind Columbus, the state capital.
Cleveland has not won an NBA championship since 2016, when megastar LeBron James, who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, was a team member.
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com
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