- What: NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs Semifinals Game 5
- When: May 13, 2025
- Who: Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Time: 4:00 p.m. PST
- Where: Rocket Arena (Cleveland, OH)
The Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of their NBA Playoffs second-round series on Tuesday.
The game will begin at 4 p.m. PST at Rocket Arena.
The Pacers hold a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-7 series. Indiana secured a decisive victory over Cleveland on Sunday, winning 129-109 as a 5-point home underdog.
The Pacers dominated the game, never trailing and, at one point, leading by as many as 44 points.
They established a new playoff record with a 41-point margin at halftime. Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, while Myles Turner and Obi Toppin each contributed 20 points.
Cleveland finds itself in a must-win situation as they return home after Sunday’s loss, where they failed to cover as a 5-point favorite on the road.
Darius Garland topped the scoring for the Cavaliers with 21 points, while Donovan Mitchell managed only 12 points before leaving the game due to an ankle injury.
He is currently listed as questionable, but in such a crucial game, he will likely do everything he can to play on Tuesday.
Additionally, here are two noteworthy trends:
Teams trailing 3-1 at home and favored by more than 4 points have a record of 8-2 straight up and 6-4 against the spread.
Furthermore, since 2003, home favorites winning Game 5 in any playoff series have a remarkable ATS record of 63 wins and 25 losses (72%).
The Cavaliers being hit by the injury bug at the worst time. I believe the Cavs are too proud and too deep to let the Pacers win this series in Cleveland.
I’ll take the Cavs to win this one and cover the spread and force a Game 6 in Indiana against the Pacers.
Best Bet: Cavs -7.5 points at -115 odds
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
