Haliburton scores 23, Pacers secure top-four seed in East with 114-112 win over short-handed Cavs

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored eight of his 23 points during a key scoring run in the fourth quarter and Aaron Nesmith added 22 points to help the Indiana Pacers rally past the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 114-112 Thursday night.

Indiana won its sixth straight and secured a top-four seed and the home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 2014. The Pacers are also one win away from their first 50-win season since 2013-14.

Haliburton added 10 assists, eight rebounds and three blocks while making four 3-pointers. Myles Turner had 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Cleveland's Ty Jerome finished with 24 points and six assists despite being held out of the fourth quarter. De'Andre Hunters had 23 points and 11 rebounds. And, Jaylon Tyson missed a midrange jumper at the buzzer that could have forced overtime.

Coach Kenny Atkinson rested four of his five starters because the Cavs had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the East. Center Jarett Allen grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half before joining the starters on the bench, and Atkinson was ejected after drawing consecutive technical fouls for arguing following a no-call with 58.6 seconds left in the third quarter.

Cavaliers: Even without their regulars, Atkinson's team delivered a strong performance. While Cleveland didn't win, its strong bench play sent a message to the rest of the league about what to expect in the playoffs.

Pacers: Indiana spent months chasing home-court advantage — and now they have it. The Pacers didn't earn many style points Thursday, but they were gritty enough to give coach Rick Carlisle a choice — rest his his players or chase the No. 3 seed.

Haliburton made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 10-0 run that erased a 107-103 deficit and gave Indiana a 113-107 lead with about three minutes left.

Indiana outscored Cleveland 23-9 on fast-break points.

The Cavaliers are at Neew York on Friday. The Pacers host Orlando on Friday.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives on Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) drives on Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) fight for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) grabs a rebound between Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) and center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) drives on Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) shoots over Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, left, is held by associate head coach Johnnie Bryant after receiving his second technical and being ejected during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) shoots over Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives on Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) shoots over Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) shoots in front of Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) looses the ball in front of Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson receives a technical during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives on Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of New York City nurses returned to the picket lines Tuesday as their strike targeting some of the city’s leading hospital systems entered its second day.

Union officials say roughly 15,000 nurses walked off the job Monday morning at multiple campuses of three hospital systems: NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai.

The affected hospitals have hired droves of temporary nurses to try to fill the labor gap. Both nurses and hospital administrators have urged patients not to avoid getting care during the strike.

New York City, like the U.S. as a whole, has had an active flu season. The city logged over 32,000 cases during the week ending Dec. 20 — the highest one-week tally in at least 20 years — though numbers have since declined, the Health Department said last Thursday.

Roy Permaul, an intensive care unit nurse who was among those picketing in front of Mount Sinai's flagship campus in Manhattan, said he and his colleagues are prepared to walk off the job as long as needed to secure a better contract.

But Dania Munoz, a nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai, stressed that the union’s fight wasn’t just about better wages.

“We deserve fair pay, but this is about safety for our patients, for ourselves and for our profession,” the 31-year-old Bronx resident said. “The things that we’re fighting for, we need. We need health care. We need safety. We need more staffing.”

The New York State Nurses Association said Tuesday that none of the hospitals have agreed to additional bargaining sessions with the union since their last meetings on Sunday.

It also complained that Mount Sinai, which operates seven hospitals, unlawfully fired three nurses hours after the strike started and improperly disciplined 14 others who had spoken out about workplace violence or discussed the union and contract negotiations with their colleagues.

Mount Sinai spokespersons said Tuesday the claims were “not accurate” and that they would provide more information later. Mt. Sinai has said approximately 20% of its nurses reported for work on the first day of the strike rather than picketing.

Meanwhile, Montefiore Medical Center said it has “not canceled even one patient’s access to care” during the work stoppage. The city Emergency Management Department said it hasn’t seen major impacts to patient care so far.

The hospital system also criticized unionized nurses for seeking “troubling proposals” such as demanding that nurses not be terminated, even if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job.

The union said Montefiore was “blatantly mischaracterizing” one of its basic workplace proposals, which would have added protections for nurses dealing with substance use disorders and which has already been adopted in other hospitals around the state.

The labor action comes three years after a similar strike forced medical facilities to transfer some patients and divert ambulances.

As with the 2023 labor action, nurses have pointed to staffing issues as a major flashpoint, accusing the big-budget medical centers of refusing to commit to provisions for safe, manageable workloads.

The private, nonprofit hospitals involved in the current negotiations say they’ve made strides in staffing in recent years and have cast the union’s demands as prohibitively expensive.

On Monday, the city's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, stood beside nurses on a picket line outside NewYork-Presbyterian, praising the union’s members for seeking “dignity, respect and the fair pay and treatment that they deserve.”

Nurses strike in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Nurses strike in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)