After losing two games at home, the Cavs had their backs against the wall, heading into tonight’s Pacers clash. Another loss and they would be down 0-3, a deficit no team has ever overcome in NBA playoff history. So, Kenny Atkinson knew he needed an effective strategy to ensure victory in Indiana. It was clear: Stop Tyrese Haliburton, win the game.

That’s exactly what Atkinson did. Following two dominant performances in Cleveland, Haliburton played his worst game of these playoffs tonight, scoring just 4 points and five assists. His only single-digit score in this postseason so far. With the Pacers’ primary superstar struggling, their offense became stagnant, and the Cavs cruised to an easy win. After the game, Atkinson detailed his plan of denying Haliburton touches to limit the Pacers’ offense.

“Yeah, I mean it’s obvious. Kind of part of the game plan. We gotta limit his touches. You know, he’s the head of the snake, and it’s extreme. That’s just where we are. I think the first kind of two games, he had his way. I thought in Game 2 we did a better job, cutting him off a little and John, it’s not just his scoring, he touches it good things happen. So, we wanted to obviously slow their transition.” The head coach remarked. Obviously, Atkinson understands what Tyrese is capable of.

In Game 1, he dropped a 22-point double-double to lead his team to a blowout victory. In the next game, Haliburton’s stats were limited to just 19 points and four assists. But he hit the biggest shot of the night, a game-winning three to shatter Cleveland’s heart.

So, Atkinson knew he could not let something like that happen again. “I think it’s kind of extreme. We jam jam him on every chance we get. So, he’s not getting high outlets and he’s not doing those kick aheads and we know the numbers what that looks like. So, we’re not perfect but I think it’s helped us.” He added. Tyrese was limited to taking just eight shot attempts tonight. Although Atkinson’s plan worked brilliantly for the most part, there was a moment when things started looking kind of scary for the Cavs.

Kenny Atkinson calls out Cavs’ bench as he is forced to rely on starters to save the day

As soon as the ball was tossed in the air, it was clear that the Cavs were out to make a statement. They started the game on an 11-0 run and took an early lead. But the Pacers quickly regained focus, tying the score to close the quarter. Then, the Cleveland team picked up pace and took a significant double-digit lead that the Pacers were left chasing the entire night.

When the game started looking out of reach for the Pacers, Atkinson rested his starters and subbed in the bench players to finish the job. However, Tyrese Haliburton and Co. saw this swap as an opportunity and they immediately sparked a comeback to cut the Cavs’ lead down to 11.

And if these playoffs have taught us one thing, its that no lead is safe in the NBA. So, Atkinson immediately went on high alert and put his starters back in to avoid a Pacers’ comeback.

After the starters got the job done, the head coach sent a firm message to the seven Cavs bench players for their inability to maintain the lead, “Yeah, one of the rare games where our bench wasn’t elite like it usually is. So, you know, this is one of those games you gotta get it. And you know I just felt it. I said ‘We got to get our starters back in.’” He also commended the starters for picking up right where they left off, “I think Evan made a play off that. I think it might have been a three-point play, but yeah, that was helpful.”

Although it wasn’t pretty, a win is a win. Now, Atkinson’s focus will shift to Game 4, as the Cavs aim to continue this form and tie the series before heading back to Cleveland. Do you think they can do it?