Wouldn’t it have been higher for the Indiana Pacers to win Sport 1 by 30 factors as an alternative of the best way it occurred — with the Pacers trailing by 15 with 9:42 to go and Tyrese Haliburton giving them their solely lead with 0.3 seconds remaining?
Completely not.
Give it some thought: The Pacers are within the good spot as they put together for Sport 2 on Sunday night time.
They claimed a 1-0 lead within the NBA Finals’ best-of-seven sequence, however they don’t must take care of any of the human-nature unwanted side effects that usually include it.
First, the Pacers aren’t deluded into considering that successful Sport 1 on the street ensures they’ll hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. For the file, the one instances prior to now 20 years when a street workforce gained Sport 1 (the 2022 Boston Celtics and the 2013 San Antonio Spurs), that workforce nonetheless misplaced the sequence.
Second — and extra essential — with the best way Sport 1 unfolded, it’s inconceivable for the Pacers to consider they’re clearly superior to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. There’s no motive for a psychological letdown. No motive to consider they’ll throw their PUMAs (in Haliburton’s case) or their Nikes on the ground Sunday night time and assume victory.
“We all know we’re a fairly heavy underdog right here,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle mentioned earlier than Sport 1.
And that didn’t change simply because the Pacers gained.
In truth, in line with BetMGM, the Pacers had been 9.5-point underdogs in Sport 1. The BetMGM oddsmakers had been so impressed by the Pacers’ rally Thursday, they promptly made Indiana 10.5-point underdogs for Sport 2.
LOL.
It’s this form of insult that retains the Pacers hungry to determine how you can clear up the Thunder’s defensive schemes. To be truthful, they confirmed some progress throughout Sport 1. After committing 19 turnovers within the first half — which put them on tempo to set an NBA Finals single-game file — Indiana coughed it up simply 5 instances within the second half.
“They’re a menace defensively,” Carlisle mentioned. “We too typically took it into crowds. Then, you realize, different instances they only take the ball out of your arms. The extent of their protection is loopy good.”
Even when the Pacers give up turning it over so incessantly, they nonetheless appeared spooked by how rapidly the Thunder’s assist defenders closed in.
Pacers like Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard would drive to the ring, but sneak glances to their left and proper, apprehensive about getting stripped from the blind aspect. And Chet Holmgren — together with his 7-foot-6 wingspan — appeared to be in all places.
Throughout one three-possession stretch within the third quarter, Aaron Nesmith drove into Lu Dort for a cost. However even when the decision hadn’t gone Dort’s means, Holmgren had already rotated over to problem the shot.
On the following possession, Holmgren flew out to the nook to deflect Nesmith’s 3-point try.
The one after that, Myles Turner caught the ball above the 3-point arc, used a pump faux to get previous Holmgren on a drive — and nonetheless bought pressured right into a journey as a result of Holmgren recovered.
That is traditional second-guessing, however Oklahoma Metropolis led 104–96 with 3:24 left when Thunder coach Mark Daigneault subbed Holmgren out for Cason Wallace. Thirty seconds later, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit two free throws to increase OKC’s result in 9, the Pacers’ win chance stood at simply 2.6 p.c.
But Holmgren didn’t return to the courtroom till there have been 0.3 seconds left — when the Thunder’s solely choice was an inbounds lob for a tip-in.
That didn’t work out, which meant the Pacers turned the primary workforce since a minimum of 1971 to win an NBA Finals sport when trailing by a minimum of 9 factors within the last three minutes.
Now the query: Can the Pacers turn into the primary workforce for the reason that 1995 Houston Rockets — led by Corridor of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler — to take a 2-0 Finals lead on the street?
We’ve all realized to not put something previous them.
“I believe … we take every part private as a gaggle,” Haliburton mentioned. “It’s not simply me. It’s everyone. I really feel like that’s the DNA of this group and that’s not simply me. It’s our teaching employees (doing) an excellent job of constructing us conscious of what’s being mentioned. Us as gamers, we discuss it within the locker room and on the aircraft. We’re a younger workforce, so we most likely spend extra time on social media than we should always.
“I simply suppose we do an excellent job of taking issues private, and that provides this group extra confidence.”