TC Martin

Comeback Pacers Do It Again

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Does this sound familiar?  The Indiana Pacers start off slow.  They turn the ball over at an alarming rate.  They get outplayed in all facets of the game to a higher seeded team and are expected to lose.  Instead, they battle back by hitting long range three-pointers and hitting clutch shots in the final minute of the game climaxing with a last second shot the sends them to victory.  Yes, it happened again. 

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The Comeback Pacers erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit and took their only lead of the game with .0.3 remaining.  That's right, Indiana led for not even one second of the 48-minute contest.  That one and only lead came on the last shot of the game by Tyresse Haliburton, who nailed a 17-foot jumper to propel the Pacers to an improbable 111-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder to win Game 1 of the best of seven NBA Finals. 

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This was nothing new for the Pacers especially this postseason.  This is the fifth time they have overcome a 15-point deficit during these playoffs.  Flashback to the first round. Indiana trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34 seconds left in overtime only to see the Pacers win 119-118.  In the second round, Indiana trailed Cleveland 119-112 with 48 seconds left and won 120-119.  In the Eastern Conference Finals, Indiana trailed New York 121-112 with 51 seconds left in regulation.  Indiana won in overtime 138-135 

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What is the common denominator?  Haliburton.  This was his fifth game tying or go-ahead basket in the :05 of a game.  In the clinching Game 5 against the Bucks, Haliburton drove for a last-second layup in overtime to get the Pacers to the next round.  His 3-pointer with 1 second remaining gave Indiana a 120-119 win over Cleveland in Game 2. In Game 1 against New York, his high-bouncing basket at the regulation buzzer sent the game to overtime and eventually beat the Knicks.  

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His heroics are special, especially for a guy who was voted the most overrated player by his NBA peers.  As ridiculous as that sounds, it is true, and it has fueled him and his team.  Deemed an overwhelming underdog in this series to the tune of a betting number of 5-1 (+500), the Pacers continue to defy the odds.  

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They turned the ball over 19 times in the first half and committed 24 for the game.  They trailed by 15 points with 9:42 to go when Rick Carlisle called time out and subbed out all five players, seeking a spark.  It worked. The Pacers outscored the Thunder 15-4 over the next 3:26, getting within 98-94 with 6:16 left.  From there it was more big 3's by Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard along with a putback by Pascal Siakam and the game winner by Haliburton.   

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In the end, Indiana outshot and outplayed the favored Thunder down the stretch because that's what they do.  Game 2 will be Sunday night back in Oklahoma City.