Mobley, Garland and Hunter return from injuries to help Cavaliers beat Pacers in Game 3

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers finally had their normal rotations back Friday night.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley and All-Star guard Darius Garland were both in the starting lineup, and key backup De'Andre Hunter came off the bench. They made a big difference after the No. 1 seed had lost the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals at home.

Mobley helped the Cavs maintain a huge rebounding advantage while Garland and Hunter produced big moments in spurts as Cleveland pulled away from the Indiana Pacers 126-104 to cut its series deficit to 2-1.

“I knew if I was going to come out here and play, I had to be able to do certain things,” Mobley said after finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. “I felt pretty comfortable, especially yesterday and then shootaround today, I also felt good. So I was pretty confident I could come out here and play my game.”

Mobley was the most effective of the three despite spraining his left ankle so severely in Game 1, he couldn't initially put any weight on it. Four days of rest certainly helped.

And it was certainly more than enough to help All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell put the game away late. Mitchell finished with 43 points and nine rebounds Friday after his 48-point effort Tuesday fell short of a win.

Garland returned from a sprained big toe on his left foot and had mixed results. He was called for four fouls in the first half and wound up with 10 points and three assists in nearly 25 minutes.

“He’s just playing through a lot of pain to get him to play this game,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Garland. “But taking the 0-2 situation, I think he had to push through a lot, a lot tonight. So hopefully recovers. quickly."

Hunter had eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes after spraining his right thumb in Game 1. He also absorbed a big collision in the second quarter that nearly knocked him to the ground, but he managed to finish the most physical of the three games.

Indiana had taken advantage of Cleveland's injuries by using its depth to pull away late in Game 1 and rallying from a seven-point deficit in the final minute to take Game 2.

The Pacers had a chance to do it again late after cutting a 24-point lead to 104-93 early in the fourth quarter. But with Cleveland at full strength and the ball in Mitchell's hands, the Cavs pulled away to climb back into the series and avoid the dreaded 3-0 hole.

The big question now for Cleveland is how quickly and completely Mobley, Garland and Hunter can recover, and what they'll be able to do in Game 4 on Sunday at Indianapolis.

“Listen, if he (Garland) could get 15 to 20 minutes, we need it,” Atkinson said. “We need another ball-handler. He can create separation. He can create advantages. Even if it's not going to be perfect, we need him right now.”

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Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) hits the ball away from Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, left, collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, right, during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) and Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) battle for the ball during the first half of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs in Indianapolis, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) falls after Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) blocked his shot in the second half during Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley holds his Defensive Player of the Year trophy before Game 1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, May 4, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year that could be defined by domestic concerns like health care and affordability.

While most Republicans lined up behind the president in the immediate aftermath of the stunning U.S. mission to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and bring him to New York to face criminal charges, there were signs of unease across the spectrum within the party. In particular, Trump's comments about the U.S. positioning itself to “run” Venezuela have raised concerns that he is abandoning the “America First” philosophy that has long distinguished him from more traditional Republicans and helped fuel his political rise.

“This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn't serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks and the oil executives,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a former Trump ally who is resigning on Monday, in an interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Those concerns were shared by some who are not associated with the party's far-right flank.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, a moderate who is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the November midterms, said in a statement that “the only country that the United States of America should be ‘running’ is the United States of America.”

Those comments reflect the sensitive dynamics between Trump and his fellow Republicans at the outset of an election year in which their party risks losing control of Congress. While the president's dominance remains undisputed, the ironclad grip that he has held over the party has faced unusual challenges in recent months. Blocs of Republicans have banded together to pressure Trump to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Others have been vocal in encouraging Trump to take concerns about affordability more seriously.

Few issues are as central to Trump's political brand as ensuring that the U.S. does not get entangled in seemingly endless foreign conflicts at the expense of domestic goals. During a 2016 Republican presidential debate, for instance, he described the war in Iraq as a “big, fat mistake."

But on Saturday, Trump said he was “not afraid of boots on the ground” in Venezuela if that was deemed necessary, and he framed his actions as prioritizing the safety and security of Americans. He articulated an aggressive vision of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, and he told reporters it was important to “surround ourselves with good neighbors."

However, much like the Iraq War, a president's early confidence after a dramatic military action can sometimes meet more sobering realities that drain domestic political support.

In Venezuela, U.S. troops could be placed in harm's way again as Trump warns that more military operations may be in the works. An ongoing conflict could worsen the hemisphere's refugee crisis, something the White House has tried to tamp down with stricter border controls. In addition, there are questions about how much cooperation the U.S. will receive from officials still in Venezuela or how easily the country's oil reserves could be tapped to fulfill Trump's goal of extracting more energy with Maduro out of the picture.

Trump's comments this weekend about revitalizing the oil industry in Venezuela are in line with some of the earliest critiques he made of the handling of the Iraq War. During a 2013 speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said the U.S. should “take” oil from Iraq and “pay ourselves back.”

Frustration with the handling of the Iraq War contributed to major gains for Democrats in the 2006 election and helped create the conditions for Barack Obama to be elected to the presidency two years later. Given the baggage surrounding those wars, Trump allies insist that the actions this weekend in Venezuela are different.

“Venezuela looks nothing like Libya,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on “Meet the Press. “It looks nothing like Iraq. It looks nothing like Afghanistan. It looks nothing like the Middle East other than the Iranian agents that are running through there plotting against America, okay?”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton argued that the 1989 ouster of Manuel Noriega in Panama is a better comparison.

“That was a successful operation,” Cotton said on CNN's “State of the Union.” “I believe, in the long run, this will be too.”

Still, amid some of the pushback about the U.S. taking expansive responsibility for managing Venezuela, Rubio suggested a more limited role. He said that Washington would not handle day-to-day governance of the South American country other than enforcing an existing “oil quarantine” on Venezuela.

It is not clear that any forceful, organized opposition to Trump's Venezuela policy is emerging within the GOP. Instead, many lawmakers appear to be giving the Republican administration some room and, at most, offer some warnings.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a potentially challenging reelection campaign this year, called Maduro a “narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker” who should stand trial even, as she said “Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves.”

Even Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who often criticizes military interventions, did not specifically oppose Trump's actions. He wrote on social media that “time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost.”

Many Democrats denounced Trump's actions in Venezuela and the Democratic National Committee quickly sought to raise money by blasting “another unconstitutional war from Trump.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., rejected the administration's argument that it was combating drug crimes, saying on X that the White House is instead focused on “oil and regime change” while seeking to “to distract from Epstein + skyrocketing healthcare costs.” Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the strike was part of an “old and obvious pattern” where an “unpopular president — failing on the economy and losing his grip on power at home — decides to launch a war for regime change abroad.”

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump listens to a question during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Secretary of State Marco Rubio watches. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)