The Indiana Pacers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 despite guard Benedict Marceline being ejected in the first quarter, taking a 3-1 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series.

Game 5 will be played in Cleveland on Wednesday. If the Pacers can beat the top-seeded Cavaliers away from home, they will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.

With 4 minutes and 32 seconds left in the first quarter, Marceline was called for a flagrant 2nd foul and ejected for hitting De'Andre Hunter in the chest. The Pacers were leading 22-10 at the time, and the score expanded to 38-23 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, they led 80-39 with a 42-16 offensive, setting a record for the Pacers' playoff score in the first half.

Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, Myles Turner and Obi Toppin each contributed 20 points, helping the Pacers to shake off the shadow of their disastrous defeat in Game 3 (104-126).

Turner said: "This is a team that gets stronger with each setback. We got hit hard in the last game, but we responded very well in this game. The starters set the tone for the game, and the substitutes continued the momentum."

For the Cavaliers, six-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell missed the second half with an ankle injury and will undergo an MRI on Monday to assess his fitness for Game 5.