Pacers, the Comeback Kings

 I don't think I've ever seen a playoff run like we're seeing in Indiana right now! For the third straight series the Pacers stole one on the road after being down double digits with a minute left, leaving the home crowd utterly heartbroken. This game was far too good for preamble so lets get into it:

WTF Nesmith

That final 2 minutes in the 4th quarter was hands down the most insane playoff performance from a role player that I've ever seen. 3 minutes left with the Pacers down 14, Aaron Nesmith hits a contested 3 off the dribble to cut the lead to 11. 2 minutes to go, Tyrese Haliburton finds Nesmith wide open on the wing for a catch and shoot 3 to bring the lead to 8. KAT misses a 3 on the ensuing possession then Siakam is fouled sending him to the line where he hits 1/2. Brunson scores in the paint to make it a 9 point game again. With about 45 seconds left, OG goes under a screen leaving Nesmith relatively open again for another 3 which he nails to bring the lead to 6. Amazingly, the Pacers can't get a stop here, KAT scores in the paint quickly to get the lead back to 8, on the ensuing possession, Nesmith now feeling himself pulls up from near the logo and drains a triple again to make the lead 5. OG fumbles a pass that would've led to a wide open dunk giving Siakam just enough time to contest the shot. It was called a foul initially but the Pacers had a challenge left, they used it and got the call reversed and came away with the ball. There's now 30 seconds left but the Pacers have the best shooter of all time for a brief moment in Nesmith so they find him on the wing and he knocks down a heavily contested 3 to cut the lead to 2. The Knicks nearly blow the inbound when Josh Hart slips but he recovers and gets the ball, eventually the Pacers foul KAT with 14 seconds left. KAT hits 1/2 at the line to make the lead 3. Aaron Nesmith, who is unconscious at this point, gets wisely intentionally fouled. I know just last week I was talking about the OKC game where they intentionally fouled up 3 with too much time left which led to them eventually losing, but in this case Nesmith wasn't missing no matter what so I get the strategy here. Nesmith hits both shots, then the Knicks almost turn the ball over on the inbound again, they very luckily get the ball to OG who's immediately fouled. OG now hits 1/2 shots giving the Pacers a chance down 2. Hali dribbles into the key, then dribbles back out, steps back and puts up what looks like a 3. The ball hits off the back of the rim, bounces straight up in the air and down through the hoop. Hali, thinking it's a 3 does the Reggie Miller choking celebration, which was hilarious, but it was reviewed to be a 2 and the game goes to OT.

After Hali celebrated too early, the Pacers absolutely needed to take that one, lest they face the scrutiny that would come if they lost. The OT was a thriller as well with each team exchanging blows back and fourth. Reggie Miller said on the broadcast that whoever gets the ball last probably wins, and he was pretty much right. After a bunch of clutch plays from Andrew Nembhard and Jalen Brunson, the game ultimately ended with the Pacers ahead 3, Knicks ball with 15 seconds left. The Knicks got multiple attempts to tie after getting the offensive board a couple of times, but all attempts came up short and the Pacers emerged victorious. 

Who's Overrated?

After a player poll voted for Tyrese Haliburton as most overrated player in the league, he's been on a mission to prove them wrong and oh boy has he done it. That's now 3 straight series in which he's orchestrated a massive comeback and capped it off with a crazy shot at the end of the game. Someone asked me today if Haliburton has more playoff moments than Harden, and I think it's crazy because Haliburton has more playoff moments than Harden, an all time great, in this one post season alone. His numbers don't jump off the page at you averaging 18.7/9.5/5.4 for the post season, but Haliburton's impact goes beyond the stat sheet. He spends all game getting his teammates involved and keeping the ball moving. When the game calls for it, Hali will get aggressive and score using his elite handle, shooting and touch. When the game is on the line in the dying seconds, Hali will demand the ball, get to his spot and hit the shot, I've never had more confidence in a player being able to do so. This Pacers team is surprising, fun and just really good and it all starts and ends with Tyrese Haliburton. 

OG vs Siakam

A fun narrative to follow for Raptors fans is the battle between OG and Pascal, 2 Raptors legends. I thought for most of the game OG got the better of spicy P. Although OG wasn't scoring much, he was playing lock down defense especially when Pascal tried to go at him and he even swatted one of his shots. By the final minutes of the game though I thought both of these guys were fairly detrimental to their teams. They each missed clutch free throws, OG fumbled a pass for a layup that would've sealed it and Pascal got repeatedly cooked by KAT. Both of them will be better at some point this series, but I think OG is a nightmare matchup for anyone, but particularly Pascal. Will be interesting to see how the Pacers adjust to try and get spicy P more involved. As fun as it was, Nesmith magic won't save them every night, they'll need their star.  

That's that for today! Quick one as I am a bit busy at work but couldn't resist breaking this one down. Go Pacers man, team of destiny.