The Pacers were home Sunday afternoon to face the Cavaliers in Game 4 of the East semi-finals. Indiana took the series’ first two games, and Cleveland won Game 3.
In Game 4, the Pacers came out firing, and they never let up. It was 80-39 at halftime last night, and the Cavs never stood a chance. The Pacers are up 3-1 as the series shifts back to Cleveland. In the first quarter of Game 4, Pacers SF Bennedict Mathurin punched Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter in the chest with a closed fist. Mathurin was then ejected from Game 4 and was unable to return.
Should De’Andre Hunter have been ejected along with Bennedict Mathurin?
Bennedict Mathurin was ejected with a flagrant 2 after this altercation with De’Andre Hunter 😳
Hunter and Myles Turner also received technicals. pic.twitter.com/uHxbpSVfYG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 12, 2025
On Sunday, Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin and Cavaliers’ De’Andre Hunter got into a small altercation. Tensions had been boiling all series between Indiana and Cleveland. The same was true in Game 4. Replays from last night’s game show that Mathurin extended a closed fist into the chest of Hunter in the first quarter. Hunter responded by wagging his finger at Mathurin and then shoved him to the ground with two hands.
Pacers center Myles Turner ran over and threw a shoulder into De’Andre Hunter. Eventually, Mathurin was ejected from the game for a flagrant 2 penalty. Turner and Hunter both received technical fouls. That was the first ejection of Bennedict Mathurin’s career. While he only played 80 seconds on Sunday, the Pacers were able to rout the Cavaliers.
Indiana had a 41-point lead by halftime, and the game was never particularly close. The Pacers now have a 3-1 series lead vs. the Cavaliers. Game 5 is Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. EST. Can Indiana close out the series on the road in Cleveland? We’ve already seen them take games 1 and 2 on the road. Tyrese Haliburton and his squad are more than ready for the challenge. If they beat the Cavs in round two, it would be their second consecutive appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
