Pacers ready to host NBA All-Star weekend after beating Raptors
The Pacers earned a much-needed rest after gutting out one more win before the All-Star break.
Never has JWB been defined as clearly as it was after the Pacers 127-125 win over the Raptors on Valentine’s Day evening.
Just win, baby!
There are no take aways from this one aside from the W. The game play resembled the effort that delivered a loss in Charlotte. The difference being a winning time boost down the stretch and a 16 for 29 three-point effort that gave the Pacers a 10 3-ball advantage over the Raps. Toronto dominated the glass (56 to 39) and scored 84 points in the paint, including 40 in transition.
Wait, how’d the Pacers win this game?
Oh, yeah. Hanging tough, making threes and finding a way to close. That winning boost? Look no further than my guy, Ben Sheppard who played like the eventual next gen Buddy replacement (next gen, meaning he can play D) I’ve been touting. Two fourth quarter 3-balls by Shep were critical to the final result. As was the Raps final possession, which saw Shep deny RJ Barrett’s advances to the rim, not once, not twice but three times before Barrett attempted a contested fade away jumper in the lane that bounced.
The Pacers packed the W and made a run for the border.
All-Star weekend
The Pacers returned to Indy, a city that is lit up like basketball heaven with the NBA All-Star festivities kicking off on Thursday.
Tyrese Haliburton seems to be the MC of the city to get things rolling, appearing on several podcasts including a live pod at The Vogue with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday night. This was after the tip off event at Bicentennial Plaza where Hali rolled in via an Indy Car two-seater driven by local legend, Connor Daly.
Haliburton also spent some quality time with the Crispus Attucks basketball team, delivering a sweet Nike package to the team. Attucks has another strong and talented team this year, lead by Dezmon Briscoe and Ron Rutland III. Attucks earned additional spotlight on Thursday when NBA commish, Adam Silver announced that the league and Pacers would team up to honor Oscar Robertson with a statue outside of the high school.
Sweet.
There are events and concerts, big and small all over the city. I drove by Broad Ripple High School on Thursday evening to see a big line waiting to get in for a pair of games played by Overtime Elite teams. The high school/college alternative program drew plenty of attention considering all that is going on around town.
As for the official NBA events, here’s what we have in Indy over the next three days:
Friday, Feb. 16
11:30 a.m. ET | Panini Rising Stars Practice | NBA TV | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
5:30 p.m. ET | Basketball Hall of Fame News Conference | NBA TV & NBA App
7 p.m. ET | Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game | ESPN | Lucas Oil Stadium
9 p.m. ET | Panini Rising Stars | TNT | GainbridgeFieldhouse
Saturday, Feb. 17
11 a.m. ET | NBA All-Star Practice presented by AT&T | NBA TV | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
2 p.m. ET | HBCU Classic presented by AT&T | NBA TV / TNT / ESPN2 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
8 p.m. ET | State Farm All-Star Saturday Night | TNT | Lucas Oil Stadium
Kia Skills Challenge
Starry 3-Point Contest
Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge
AT&T Slam Dunk
Sunday, Feb. 18
11 a.m. ET | NBA Legends Brunch | NBA TV & NBA App
1:30 p.m. ET | G League Up Next Game presented by AT&T | NBA TV | Indiana Convention Center
8 p.m. ET | 73rd NBA All-Star Game | TNT | Gainbridge Fieldhouse