"Queue the Chris Paul meme" - NBA fans in stitches as Cavs' $197,230,450 guard's 8-straight points cut deficit to 34

Remember the “Chris Paul hits a huge 3 to cut the lead down to 42” meme? NBA fans may have gotten a sequel to that during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday, when the Indiana Pacers crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109.

It was total domination from start to finish, with the Pacers leading by as many as 44 points and steamrolling the Cavs, even with the East’s No. 1 team at full strength.

At one stretch, Darius Garland, who had missed four postseason games, including Games 1 and 2 against Indiana, scored eight straight to try and spark a run, but it only shaved the gap to 34, making it 102-68. The moment prompted a wave of laughter on X (formerly Twitter) after YouTuber Kofie posted about it.

“I have not laughed harder man I’m sorry,” he said.

“Queue the Chris Paul meme😂😂😂,” a fan replied.

And fans indeed recalled the viral clip from the 2022 Western Conference semifinals between Chris Paul's Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks.

“Insert you know which meme here,” one said.

“New Chris Paul meme just dropped,” another said.

“This the new CP3 meme format,” another joked.

Garland, in the second year of his five-year, $197.23 million deal with the Cavs, is still battling a toe injury. He led the team in scoring in Game 4 with 21 points.

What happened to the Cavs in Game 4?

The Pacers outclassed the Cavaliers in Game 4. They exploded to a 41-point halftime advantage and never looked back, dismantling the East’s top seed en route to a dominant win that puts them one step from the Eastern Conference finals.

Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland’s leading scorer all series, put up just 12 points before sitting out the second half due to a left ankle issue.

While the Cavs shot a respectable 42.9%, they coughed up 22 turnovers, leading to 35 Indiana points. The Pacers also dominated in the paint, outscoring them 58-32, despite being outrebounded 41-37.

Indiana’s ball movement was on full display with 37 assists compared to the Cavs’ 20. Seven Pacers reached double figures, led by Pascal Siakam’s 21 points. Obi Toppin and Myles Turner chipped in 20 each.

Most of the Cavs’ second-half points came from the bench, with Isaac Okoro posting 13 and rookie Jaylon Tyson contributing 11.

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said Mitchell is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. Game 5 tips off Tuesday in Indianapolis.