This wasn’t a basketball game — it was a high-speed demolition job. The Indiana Pacers absolutely vaporized the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 with a 129-109 win, and no, that score doesn’t even begin to show how brutal it was. Indiana dropped 80 points by halftime — that’s not a typo — and led by 41 going into the break. That halftime lead tied the largest margin in NBA playoff history, and it felt like the Cavs had just been hit with every Dragon Ball Z final form all at once.

And if you blinked during the second quarter, you probably missed Indiana’s 17-0 run where they shredded Cleveland’s defense like expired cheese. It was so bad that Cavs fans had flashbacks to that time LeBron left for L.A.

With 4:32 left in the first quarter, things got spicy. Very spicy. Bennedict Mathurin — who had been cooking the Cavs this entire series — got tangled up with De’Andre Hunter, and next thing you know, Mathurin hits Hunter in the sternum with a closed fist. That’s a flagrant 2, and he got tossed faster than someone who brought Pepsi to a Coca-Cola shareholders meeting.

Now, you’d think losing Mathurin would slow down the Pacers. But instead, they got even more psychotically focused. This is a guy who had 11, 19, and 23 points in Games 1 through 3, and yet the Pacers still ran the Cavs off the court without him. That’s like turning off the AC in Death Valley and still surviving with a smile.

After the carnage, Cavs interim head coach Kenny Atkinson finally spoke to the media. You’d expect flames and fury, but Atkinson went full Zen master mode: “Listen, you know, I try to turn positive. Pride, compete, composure… because I didn’t want it to be about the referees. It’s not about that.“

Yeah, it’s not about the refs — it’s about giving up 80 points in 24 minutes, coach. But Atkinson emphasized composure, even after the Mathurin-Hunter melee: “That’s not why I’m in this league. I’m not in it for the fights and the pushing and the punches. I was just telling our guys, keep our composure… you get punched, you’ve got to be above, right?“

Mitchell Limps, Garland guts it out, and Mathurin gets tossed in wild game 4 meltdown

Speaking of barely reacting, where was Donovan Mitchell in the second half? Well, he suffered a left ankle injury and didn’t return after halftime. The Cavs listed him as “doubtful to return” mid-third quarter, but by then, the game was already a smoldering crater of regret.

As for Darius Garland? He played through pain and still managed 21 points. Atkinson explained the decision to keep him in: “I asked him. I said, you tell me. Like, you know, we got to think about, you know, game five. And he wanted to get his rhythm… I thought he was moving better. So that’s a real positive.“

This was supposed to be the bounce-back. This was supposed to be the “we stole momentum in Game 3” moment. Instead, it was a soul-snatching. The Pacers out-shot, out-rebounded, out-hustled, and out-party-rocked the Cavaliers.

Fans are furious. The locker room vibes? Probably somewhere between “awkward funeral” and “group chat when you text something meant for someone else.” With Game 5 set for Tuesday, May 13, in Cleveland, the Cavs now face elimination.

Donovan’s injury, Mathurin’s rage quit, and a Game 4 performance uglier than a Myspace profile in 2025 — all of it is now baked into this chaos casserole.

The Cavs will need more than vibes and composure to force a Game 6. They’ll need Mitchell’s ankle to cooperate, Garland to drop another 20+, and somehow, somehow slow down the Pacers’ track meet of an offense.

Bennedict Mathurin might’ve been ejected, but his spirit apparently possessed the whole roster because they didn’t just beat Cleveland — they dunked them into another dimension. If the Cavs can’t figure something out soon, their playoff run will end not with a bang, but with another 40-point halftime deficit. Stay tuned.