After the game, Cavaliers' star Donovan Mitchell was brutally honest about the disappointment he felt, saying that he knew the press was going to be very critical, but promised the Cavs would use it as fuel.

"A Donovan Mitchell led team has never been to a Conference Finals," Perkins wrote on X following Cleveland's elimination from the postseason. "I don’t care how you slice it, but this season for the Cavs is a complete failure."

Game 5 loss. Cleveland lost the best-of-seven series 4-1. With their backs against the wall, facing the most adversity of the season, the Cavs got off to a nervy start. So did Indiana. The two teams — each with a prolific offense — were a combined 4 of 19 from the field and 0 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening four-plus minutes.

Indiana has reached the Eastern Conference Finals for consecutive years. That's not lucky, this team is for real.

The Indiana Pacers have the chance to return to the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night. The Pacers have a 3-1 lead in their second-round playoff series against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and can close it out in Game 5.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner kept a receipt of 13 ESPN reporters picking the Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers eliminated the Cavaliers in Game 5 on Tuesday.

For a second straight year, the Pacers are eight wins away from their first-ever NBA title. Here's how it went down.