Pacers pound Cavaliers to widen the gap

Mitchell hobbles off, OKC edge Nuggets

- 

The Indiana Pacers thrashed the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their NBA playoff series on Sunday as Oklahoma City edged Denver to level their series at two games apiece.

Pascal Siakam scored 21 points to lead seven Pacers players in double figures as Indiana pushed Eastern Conference top seeds Cleveland to the brink of elimination in their best-of-seven conference semi-final.

There were no such offensive fireworks in Denver, where Oklahoma City squelched the Nuggets' second-half comeback bid to claim a gritty 92-87 victory in a game where both teams struggled to get shots to fall.

In Cleveland, the Pacers already had the game well in hand, with an 80-39 half-time lead, when the Cavs announced that star Donovan Mitchell was doubtful to return for the second half with a left ankle injury.

Mitchell, coming off back-to-back 40-point games, scored 12 points in the first half, but was clearly hurting when he tested his ankle prior to the start of the second half.

His loss would be a body blow for a Cleveland team hoping to fend off elimination when they host game five tonight.