Summer Pacers stay on brand, use late run to beat Cavs
If there is time on the clock, the Pacers will keep trying to win.
The feeling was oh, so familiar, but…nahh.
After making a second half run to erase an earlier 16-point deficit, the Summer Pacers appeared ready to pick up where the playoff Pacers left off. But after a few bad possessions, a tight game turned into a Cavs’ 10-point lead with 2:38 left in the game.
Good effort? Nahh.
Instead of fading away, the Pacers ramped up the pressure and finished the game on a 15-4 run to beat the Cavs, 116-115. The formula for the win was as comical as it was exciting. Of course, they pulled that game out.
Enrique Freeman hit a pair of free throws (he’s been known to do that in clutch situations, just ask Minnesota) with six second left for the winning points. As Tony East reported, coach Isaac Yacob succeeded in pushing his team to play the Pacers style of basketball.
“Earlier in camp I talked about how we’re trying to implement what we do with the Pacers to the summer league team,” Yaco said. I didn’t know we were going to come back from 16!”
Good times.
A few notes:
Johnny Furphy looked good early in the game, scoring the Pacers first bucket with a nice lefty finish in traffic, then following that up with another drive and kick for a RayJ Dennis 3-ball. Furphy ended up getting smack in the head, across his nose which took him out after playing just 9 minutes. Furph didn’t return, but finished with 8 points (2 of 3 from 3-land) and showed a nice assertive approach.
RayJ Dennis was extremely solid as he stuck with the game for the full 40 minutes. Dennis finished with 26 points and 9 assists, making 4 of 8 threes and running the team in impressive fashion for much of the game.
Dennis, Quenton Jackson and rookie Taelon Peter spearheaded the defensive attack late in the game to close out the win. They all gathered steals and Peter had a couple of run outs for dunks in the game.
Peter didn’t try to do too much and certainly struggled a bit on the defensive end to start the game, getting hung up in traffic. However, he looked better as the game went on and was pretty solid guarding on the ball. He admitted that defense was an area he needs to improve and he at least showed he’s capable of said improvement with continued work. A forgettable stretch of possession by rookie free agent, Steven Ashworth as the Pacers fell behind late opened up the opportunity for Peter to go back in the game and help close it out.
QJackson was a solid as you’d expect, finishing with an efficient 24 points on 10 shots, with a couple of steals and three assists off the bench. While the Pacers will need a fourth point guard in the upcoming season, both Dennis and Jackson showed they will be ready and waiting, if needed while playing on two-way contracts with the Boom.
Rookie Kam Jones started the game and played 20 minutes, flashing an active game at both ends of the court with the ability to get in the lane. 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals highlight how active Jones was and he adjusts to the pro game.
The Pacers have the day off on Friday before they face the Summer Thunder on Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. ET, again on NBA TV.