Indiana Pacers vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/06/2025

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Venue:  Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH

Where to Watch:  TNT, MAX, truTV

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Pacers +9.5, Cavaliers -9.5; Over/Under:  229.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Pacers +10, Cavaliers -10; Over/Under:  229.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pacers +9.5, Cavaliers -9.5; Over/Under:  229.5 points

Indiana Pacers:  50-32 (2nd place, Central Division)

Cleveland Cavaliers:  64-18 (1st place, Central Division)

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Indiana Pacers:  8-2 last 10

Cleveland Cavaliers:  6-4 last 10

The Pacers are entering the playoffs with a 50-32 record overall this season and they were 20-20 in their road games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 3 game winning streak with wins coming against the Milwaukee Bucks twice in a row and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Andrew Nembhard led the team in points in that game with 23 while Tyrese Haliburton was next on the team with 22 points. Tyrese Haliburton led the team in assists in that game with 13 while Myles Turner led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 53% from the field, 52.8% from 3-point range, and 93.3% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 117.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 115.1 PPG against them. The Pacers have an ATS record of 40-45-3 this season and their O/U record is 47-39-2.

The Cavaliers are entering the playoffs with a 64-18 record overall this season and they were 34-7 in their home games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Indiana Pacers. Donovan Mitchell led the team in points in that game with 33 while Ty Jerome was next on the team with 21 points. Ty Jerome led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Evan Mobley led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 45.9% from the field, 23.7% from 3-point range, and 72.2% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 121.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 112.4 PPG against them. The Cavaliers have an ATS record of 51-35-1 this season and their O/U record is 55-32.

The current betting odds have the Cavaliers listed as a 9.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Cavaliers and the 4th seeded Pacers from the Eastern Conference for the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs. The Pacers are leading this series 1-0 after winning game 1 on the road. The Pacers took a 1-0 series lead with a 121-112 win over the Cavaliers in the 1st game of this series, and they looked really good in that game. They came out strong from the start as they led for most of the game, and now they don't need to have as much urgency in this game since they already got the job done and flipped the home advantage in these first 2 road games. The Cavaliers will be the team with urgency now as they have lost the home advantage, and they will come out much stronger in this one as they look to bounce back. The Cavaliers didn't shoot as well as the Pacers in that game and they looked rusty from the long rest they had between the 1st round and the 2nd round. Now that they have a game in this series under their belt, they will come out with a much better effort in this one. The Pacers also shot over 50% from beyond the arc in that one so that will be tough for them to replicate here. The Cavaliers were also missing a key player in their lineup, but they will be able to make the adjustments and will have a better shooting night too. The Pacers are rolling and were able to catch the Cavaliers off-guard in that 1st game, but the Cavaliers will be ready to go right from the start of this game and they were the best team in the East for a reason. Look for them to bounce back with a big win and even up this series at 1. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cavaliers to cover the spread in this game. 

Pacers Cavaliers Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Tuesday, May 6, 2025 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Cavaliers 129 Pacers 117.

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Indiana Pacers: 24-33 ATS off a road win. 3-10 ATS on the road off a win against a division rival. 6-13 ATS on the road after 3 or more consecutive overs. 9-5 OVER as an underdog of 10 or more points. 11-2 OVER off an upset win over a division rival as an underdog. 

Cleveland Cavaliers: 7-3 ATS off a loss against a division rival. 26-16 ATS revenging a home loss vs opponent. 74-46 ATS versus good 3 point shooting teams - making 36% of their attempts or more. 26-18 OVER in a home game where the total is 220 to 229.5. 26-13 OVER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%).

Indiana Pacers:  I. Jackson (C) Out For Season - Calf.

Cleveland Cavaliers:  D. Garland (PG) Day To Day - Toe.

“We had an exceptionally good shot-making night, but the key word is aggression. We’ve got to be in attack mode to beat this team." - Rick Carlisle after his team’s win against the Cavaliers in game 1 of this series on Sunday. 

“I don’t feel like we had the rhythm of the game. We have to move forward. The positive is we got accustomed to how they were playing. We’ll figure out the 3-point shooting.” - Kenny Atkinson after his team’s loss against the Pacers in game 1 of this series on Sunday.

PG Tyrese Haliburton

SG Andrew Nembhard

SF Aaron Nesmith

PF Pascal Siakam

C Myles Turner

PG Ty Jerome

SG Donovan Mitchell

SF Max Strus

PF Evan Mobley

C Jarrett Allen

PPG: P. Siakam (20.2)

APG: T. Haliburton (9.2)

Reb/G: P. Siakam (6.9)

PPG: D. Mitchell (24)

APG: D. Garland (6.7)

Reb/G: J. Allen (9.7)

Coaches:

Indiana Pacers: Rick Carlisle (4th season)

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kenny Atkinson (1st season)