Pacers beat Cavs to bring back 2-0 lead to the 'House, as road wins become communal celebration wherever fans watch
Nesmith, Haliburton make iconic plays to help Pacers steal Game 2 in Cleveland and set off wild reactions among fans.
Feel free to find a breakdown of the Pacers 120-119, Game 2 win over the Cavs elsewhere. In a nutshell, the Pacers energy, effort and execution lagged far behind the short-handed Cavs to the tune of a 32-15 deficit after the first quarter.
15 points? 9 turnovers? 1 for 8 from 3-land?
With Cleveland missing Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter, the first impression the Pacers gave off was that of a team unable to handle success and seize an opportunity to take control of the series. You know, kinda like the Pacers of early December.
But the Blue and Gold Boys of Spring are something different. Building something special. A team that won’t give in until they run out of time. For the second time in the playoffs, the Pacers rallied from a 7-point deficit with under a minute to play to beat the Cavs by a point after it appeared the Cavs had sucked the life out of any hope.
Aaron Nesmith flew in for a spectacular putback dunk of a Pascal Siakam missed free throw (and was fouled, but no call) which made Pacers fans all over the place straighten up with 47 seconds remaining. Nesmith then drew an offensive foul which lead to a Siakam layup to cut that 7-point lead to three. Then the Pacers forced a critical Cavs’ timeout on the inbound attempt, followed by Andrew Nembhard stealing the inbounds pass after the timeout.
Then Tyrese Haliburton went into legend mode, getting to the rim and losing control of his layup attempt as he was fouled. Still, hope after two free throws to extend the game, right?
How about Haliburton makes one, misses the next. Myles Turner rose up among a scrum to tap the rebound the Haliburton in the lane. The Pacers star pulled the ball out, went to work on Ty Jerome and hit a 3-point game winner, followed by a Sam Cassell celebration.
This was 47 seconds of game time. This was stunning to witness. This was exhilarating to watch. This evoked visceral, audible and intense reactions among the masses watching on TV in various locations outside of Rocket Arena.
I was in one of those spots, at a company all staff event in San Mateo, CA with 300 colleagues, most of which were Pacers and Warriors fans. The second Haliburton’s second free throw bounced, there was a groan of resignation, as if the Pacers magic and/or normal odds, had to flip at some point.
Within a second, that groan turned into a crescendo of hope as Haliburton suddenly had the ball and was setting up for a shot. When said shot went through the hoop, pure as the wind driven snow. the whole room erupted in sustained euphoria and disbelief.
Jumping, hugging, high fives and fist bumps. Pure elation. A lot of casual Pacers fans suddenly ramped up their engagement with the team. One of the great sports moments I’ve ever experienced.
And I wasn’t the only one.
A friend shared his experience, sitting outside at a restaurant around Mass Ave in Indy. The TV had the game on, but it wasn’t an easy view from his table and with the Pacers down 20 they had cease following closely. When Haliburton his the winner, not only did the place erupt, but he could hear the burst of joy coming from several other restaurants and apartments in the area.
The city spoke as one in an instant and suddenly, a lot of non-hard core Pacers fans were all in. That doesn’t apply to anyone reading this, so please, welcome all aboard for this magical ride. The communal experience is spectacular.
A couple of other examples of the madness felt by Pacers fans included the Pacers watch party which appears to be at Ale Emporium in Castleton. Straight bananas.
Also, down at IU in Bloomington, the Upstairs Pub went nuclear after the game winner stunned the students.
After the Game 5 win over Milwaukee, a colleague of mine who shared in the San Mateo celebration and ranks as a hard core Pacers fan, made the case that something different was going on with this Pacers team and this may be their year. After last night, he hammered home that point and there was no way to refute it while basking in the madness of that Pacers win in Cleveland.
Hard core or casual, this Pacers team has welcomed all aboard for this playoff ride. While the fans may hope, dream and/or pray for a miracle run to the NBA Finals (something all Knicks fans are likely doing now, as well), the Pacers have to continue following Rick Carlisle’s lead and not look ahead, while expecting the absolute toughest circumstances to earn a win in Game 3.
At least that game will be at home in the Fieldhouse, where the playoff experience is always electric and fortified by the shared experience Pacers fans enjoyed in several places around the country on Tuesday.