CLEVELAND (AP) — Kenny Atkinson has one simple message for his Cleveland Cavaliers going into their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Indiana Pacers.
Put your track shoes on.
The top-seeded Cavaliers had the NBA's top offense in the regular season, averaging 121.9 points. The fourth-seeded Pacers averaged 117.4 points (seventh-best), but have one of the quickest teams in the league, and like to go full throttle.
“We have the athleticism and speed, it’s just the initial shock of them doing it so consistently,” Atkinson said. “I give (coach) Rick Carlisle and their group so much credit because it plays into their personnel. The message to our guys is how resilient we can be with our running. We do it three times, they're going to do it four. Can we do it for longer?”
The matchup everyone will be watching when the series starts Sunday night at Rocket Arena will be between Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell.
Haliburton — who averaged 17.6 points against Milwaukee — is averaging a playoff-best 11.6 assists per game running the Pacers' five out offense. He also was the first Indiana player in 11 years to begin a playoff series with four straight double-doubles.
“He’s a talented player. Since the All-Star break, he’s been averaging like 20 points and 11 assists,” Mitchell said. “I have a lot of respect for him and what he brings over there. We understand how important he is to that group. He’s a threat and we got to make sure we try to find ways to neutralize one of the biggest threats on their team.”
Mitchell averaged 23.8 points against the Miami Heat in the opening round. If the All-Star guard puts up 30 points on Sunday, it will be his eighth straight game with at least 30 points in a series opener, which would surpass Michael Jordan.
“They’re the best team in the East for a reason,” Haliburton said. “They’ve got a lot of depth. They shoot the ball well, defend at a high level, they got rim protection, they’ve got everything. We’re excited to compete against those guys, and there’s not a ton of film -- them having all their guys and us having all our guys.”
Both teams have had time to prepare for what is expected to be a long series. Cleveland closed out Miami in four games on Monday night while Indiana's series against Milwaukee wrapped up on Tuesday.
Starting guard Andrew Nembhard, one of the Pacers top defenders, believes the extra time will benefit the Pacers because they avoided another physical battle on the road.
“It’s definitely a big advantage, us not having to go to Milwaukee and play Game 6,” he said. “We’re better when we’re rested.”
Cleveland's Darius Garland will be a game-time decision as he continues to deal with a nagging big toe injury. The All-Star guard — who missed the final two games of the regular season and then Games 3 and 4 of the Miami series after aggravating the injury — did not practice on Saturday, but had a heavy workload and went through a full-contact session on Friday.
Atkinson said Garland is likely going to have to deal with the injury for the rest of the playoffs.
“The toe’s a tough one,” Atkinson said. “There’s pain and all that. But the good thing when we watch him shooting right now, he’s moving well.”
Yes, the Pacers are playing their second straight playoff series against a division foe, but it could be very different from the chippy Milwaukee series.
While the Pacers and Bucks sparred 20 times over the past two seasons including back-to-back first round series, both won by the Pacers, these teams haven’t met in the postseason since back-to-back first round matchups in 2017 and 2018, when LeBron James was Cleveland’s star player.
In fact, they’ve not even really squared off this season with either team at full strength. The result: Indiana has resorted to some unique ways to prepare.
“I would bet that’s not happened a lot in NBA history,” Haliburton said “I missed two games, a game and a half, so I mean the film is weird. But I think you take the bits and pieces as much as you can and figure out how to insert. ... I think you have to use your imagination at some point, watching the last series and seeing how Tyler (Herro), how he’s attacking these guys offensively. It’s very interesting, but it poses a little bit of a different threat and an opportunity.”
When San Antonio announced Friday that Gregg Popovich would no longer coach the Spurs, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle moved up to second on wins list of active coaches.
Carlisle needs seven more regular-season victories to become the 11th coach to reach 1,000 wins and over his 23 NBA seasons, Carlisle has been through plenty of tough matchups. And he doesn’t want anybody overlooking this series, which features two of the league’s smaller-market but well-supported teams.
“Indianapolis and Cleveland are two both great cities and very underrated cities,” he said. “I’ve been to Cleveland enough times to know their fan base is rabid, their building is one of the loudest. So it’s going to be a high level of competition.”
AP sports writer Mike Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, center, celebrates a defensive play with teammates Andrew Nembhard, left, and center Myles Turner (33) during the second half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, in Indianapolis, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) fouls Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) during the first half in Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer there and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon, as Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.
The Minneapolis gathering was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend. It came in a city on edge since the killing of Renee Good on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
“We’re all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis who joined the protest Saturday. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”
On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as demonstrators threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested. He faulted “agitators that are trying to rile up large crowds.”
“This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey said of the president who has demanded massive immigration enforcement efforts in several U.S. cities. “He wants us to take the bait.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz echoed the call for peace.
“Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted on social media. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says its deployment of immigration officers in the Twin Cities is its biggest ever immigration enforcement operation. Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.
Connor Maloney said he was attending the Minneapolis protest to support his community and because he's frustrated with the immigration crackdown.
“Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he said. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”
Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to attend a protest in Durham, North Carolina, on Saturday because of the “horrifying” killing of Good in Minneapolis.
“We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”
Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states.
In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups organized the demonstration that began in a park about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where the 37-year-old Good was shot on Wednesday. Marchers carried signs calling for ICE to leave and voiced support for Good and immigrants.
A couple of miles away, just as the demonstration began, an Associated Press photographer witnessed heavily armed officers — at least one in Border Patrol uniform — approach a person who had been following them. Two of the agents had long guns out when they ordered the person to stop following them, telling him it was his “first and final warning.”
The agents eventually drove onto the interstate without detaining the driver.
Protests held in the neighborhood have been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.
O’Hara said city police officers have responded to calls about cars abandoned because their drivers have been apprehended by immigration enforcement. In one case, the car was left in park and in another case a dog was left in the vehicle.
He said immigration enforcement activities are happening “all over the city” and that 911 callers have been alerting authorities to ICE activity, arrests and abandoned vehicles.
The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.
Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February.
Three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday morning and were initially allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.
U.S, Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig accused ICE agents of obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.
“They do not care that they are violating federal law,” Craig said after being turned away.
A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies that limit congressional visits to immigration facilities. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by 12 members of Congress who sued in Washington, D.C. to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities.
Associated Press writers Allen Breed in Durham, North Carolina, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.
People place flowers for a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Friday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Demonstrators march outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Rep. Kelly Morrison D-Minn., center, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., second from the right, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., far right, at the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference as Police Chief Brian O'Hara listens, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents stand outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as protesters gather in Minneapolis, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents look on as protesters gather during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A woman holds a sign for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier in the week, as people gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Two people sit in the street with their hands up in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Minnesota State Patrol officers are seen during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Two people sit in the street holding hands in front of Minnesota State Patrol during a protest and noise demonstration calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
