This year was supposed to be different. It wasn’t. The top-seeded Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight season. This time, by the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers in a 114-105 Game 5 loss.

Cavs fans are grieving after getting eliminated by the Pacers in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday

As some fans wrap their heads around the end of Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers, Abram Sykora said he feels defeated.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Cavaliers took Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the Indiana Pacers on the road. A big loss in Game 4, however, brings the series back to Cleveland with the Cavs on the brink of elimination trailing 3-1 in the series.

Donovan Mitchell missed the second half of the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers after what the team announced as a left ankle injury. It was a gut punch to what was an embarrassing loss for the top-seeded Cavaliers.

The Indiana Pacers advanced to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals after defeating the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 114-105 in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Overcoming a 19-point first-half deficit, the Pacers secured the series 4-1, eliminating the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Fresh off their first win, the Cavs entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse dripping with confidence, believing they had found answers to Indiana’s complex puzzle. Hardly.

Despite a coaching change, the Cavs ended their season in the same place — Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. So all eyes are on the roster.