Discover who’s most to blame for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ shocking playoff exit against the Pacers and what’s next.

The Indiana Pacers are on their way to their second straight Conference Finals appearance, and they've gotten used to winning.

The Indiana Pacers led by coach Rick Carlisle turned out to be a temple of doom for the #1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers whipping them in the playoffs as they had in the regular season.

The Indiana Pacers emphatically pushed the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of playoff elimination with a dominant 129-109 win to take a 3-1 series lead.

Indiana has not made the NBA Finals since 2000, and has never won an NBA title. Rick Carlisle last coached in the Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, and he knows his team is close.

"I'm sorry that their season had to end like this," Rick Carlisle said after his fourth-seeded Pacers eliminated Cleveland despite the Cavs' 64 wins and Coach of the Year honors.

The fourth-seeded Pacers booked their return to the Eastern Conference Finals with Tuesday night’s 114-105 victory over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, wrapping up a stunning series victory in only five games. Haliburton led the way with 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-10 on 3-pointers, along with eight assists and six rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell made a point in going back out onto the court at Rocket Arena minutes after suffering a Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers, which eliminated the