The Cleveland Cavaliers absolutely melted down in their second-round series against the Indiana Pacers and now face a long offseason with a roster currently projected to rise above the second apron.

"I'm sorry that their season had to end like this," Rick Carlisle said after his fourth-seeded Pacers eliminated Cleveland despite the Cavs' 64 wins and Coach of the Year honors.

The East's top seed has been eliminated. With their 114-105 win in Game 5 on Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers knocked out the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs and clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive season.

The Indiana Pacers fought back from a 19-point, second-quarter deficit to eliminate the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA playoffs and reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight year.

The Indiana Pacers led by coach Rick Carlisle turned out to be a temple of doom for the #1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers whipping them in the playoffs as they had in the regular season.

For as high-scoring and high-flying as they came to known during the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers' "Cavalanche" settled to a stop when it mattered most. Despite being the No. 1 seed, the Cavaliers were bounced from the second round of the NBA playoffs in five games to the Indiana Pacers,

The Cleveland Cavaliers earned their flowers during a 64-win season, with more still coming. They must look within to answer new questions.

The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of their best-of-7, second-round series in the NBA Playoffs Tuesday.

Indiana has not made the NBA Finals since 2000, and has never won an NBA title. Rick Carlisle last coached in the Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, and he knows his team is close.