It wasn't always pretty, but in the cold light of day, the Pacers did exactly what was expected of them last night. When the final whistle blew, the starters were on the bench and the benchwarmers were on the court as the Pacers comfortably closed out their home stand against the Bucks.
That's not to say the game was drama free. The first quarter saw five technical fouls and Bobby Portis' ejection. It also saw Pat Beverly and Khris Middleton sustain more injuries, something that surely has Bucks fans turning to the Book of Job.
The star of the game was unquestionably Myles Turner. He was incandescent from behind the arc and kept the Pacers afloat when the pesky Bucks simply wouldn't accept losing.
The transformation of Turner from perennial trade block resident to "roster construction cheat code" is something that should warm the coldest of Pacers-fan hearts.
Judging by the reactions of the fans at Gainbridge last night, Myles' haters have gone into hiding for the time being.
Myles wasn't the only one hitting threes last night. The whole team seemingly caught fire, a lesson in averages after a dismal shooting performance in Game 3.
The other stat the Pacers excelled in (and have excelled in all series) is assist-to-turnover ratio. They are sharing the rock and valuing possessions. Again, it's not always pretty, but when you limit self-inflicted wounds, you tend to win games.
Other than Turner and Nembhard, the Pacers are not shooting the lights out this series. The league average True Shooting Percentage was about 58% for the regular season and is about 56% for the playoffs so far. Still, setting each other up and taking care of the ball go a long way to surviving rough shooting nights.
The poster boy of just getting it done is none other than notorious frontrunner Tyrese Haliburton. The NBA University pull-up shooting tweets used to be evidence in Tyrese's GOAT campaign. Even with a strong performance last night, shooting 30% on his favorite shot is an eye sore, to put it mildly.
Nevertheless, he's finding ways to help his team win. He's beginning to take advantage of the mid-range after seeing deep drop coverage from the Bucks all series. He's also crashing the boards with more intention that we saw through the first 82, even recording a triple double in Game 3. Those little things are adding up, making him one of the most well rounded statistical performers for playoff rookies in league history.
Of course, he's doing all of it with a bad back.
Can't wait to see him when he's fully healthy and fully confident in his shot.
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