A major factor in the Pacers reaching a first finals in a quarter of a century has been their ability to overturn games that have at times, seemed close to impossible to do so.
In game five of their play-off first round meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers found themselves 118-111 down with 40 seconds of overtime remaining, only for Andrew Nembhard to nail a three-pointer and Haliburton to score five unanswered points for a 119-118 victory.
Trailing by 14 points in the third quarter of game two in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Thunder were 119-112 down with 57 seconds but recorded a 120-119 as Haliburton found a three-pointer with one second remaining.
A hat-trick of memorable play-off comebacks again had Haliburton at the heart of it. In the first game of the Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers trailed 121-112 to the Knicks with 52 seconds remaining of regular time. As the buzzer sounded, Haliburton’s long-range shot with one foot on the three-point line bounced up off the rim and dropped in for two points, sending the game to overtime before the Pacers won 135-134.
What can be said about the Pacers is their relentless attitude and their ability to dig deep into games, something which they will need against a Thunder side that averaged 3.1 more points per game than them in the regular season.
Read the full article here