Two of the past three champs are staring at elimination without their superstars, plus more Round 2 revelations.

The Pacers won Games 1, 2 and 5 at Rocket Mortgage Arena to help secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana needed to battle back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit. Tyrese Haliburton's three-point shooting played a huge role in clawing back into the game.

These are the NBA playoffs of survival, where not even the stars are safe. The latest huge blow to this postseason: Jayson Tatum was wheeled off Monday night, his season over and now his 2025-26 season with the Boston Celtics in doubt because of a torn Achilles.

Despite a coaching change, the Cavs ended their season in the same place — Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. So all eyes are on the roster.

The Pacers shook off a cold first quarter, surging to beat the Cavaliers 114-109 in the deciding Game 5 on Tuesday. After the game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle gave his team credit for knocking off one of the NBA's top contenders.

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers surged held on late Tuesday night to grab a 114-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena in Game 5 of their series. That gave the Pacers the 4-1 series win and punched their ticket to a second consecutive finals, where they'll face the winner of the New York Knicks-Boston Celtics series.

Recent history says the Knicks win when Scott Foster is refereeing. Could their good fortune continue in Game 4 against Boston?

In addition to his game-saving defensive plays in the series’ first two contests, Bridges has made up for offensive struggles with averages of 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.7 steals while playing a whopping 44.0 minutes per game.