After their home defeat in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers are now down 3-0 and, barring a miracle never seen in the NBA in the playoffs, will leave the competition in the Conference final. No one had imagined Indiana going this far and this campaign is a real victory full of promise for Rick Carlisle’s group, in addition deprived of Tyrese Haliburton for a game and a half. No regrets, then, for a young team that has a bright future ahead of it? Yes, still a little…
The statistic put forward by Tim Bontemps of ESPN after Game 3 risks hurting the Hoosiers a little: the Pacers are the first team in 25 years in the NBA to lose several matches in a playoff series after having led at least 5 points in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter. In two of the three matches in this series, Indiana was in control, before faltering and getting knocked down. In game 3, the Midwest franchise had a lead of up to 18 points and still thought it was holding the right end before Jrue Holiday put Boston in the lead 38 seconds from the end on a basket with the foul, before to intercept a crucial ball and convert his two free throws very close to the buzzer.
Let’s hope that despite these swings in level and concentration, the Pacers are able to reduce the gap to finish this series in which the majority of people saw them lost in advance, on a good note.
