Well, the Pacers aren't Hamlet. They're not overthinking it. They're paid to try and win games and, by golly, that's just what they're going to do.

Nobody represents this everyman pragmatism more than TJ McConnell, who led the team to a 121-117 victory over the Thunder while putting up numbers that the Pacers haven't seen in 30 years.

McConnell's brand is that of the permanent underdog. It's easy to write him off, but do so at your own peril. For better or worse, the team adopted his image tonight.

Going into the game, the Thunder had everything to play for and the Pacers had very little. Fighting for a play-in spot with an upcoming murderers row of opponents, the Thunder needed to win this game. Conversely, the Pacers seem like a lock for a top-10 pick. You could argue, as many have, that a loss is more beneficial than a win.

Nevertheless, the Pacers came out humming on offense, scoring 36 first quarter points on 61.5% from the field. While they maintained their strong offensive play through the second quarter, taking a 65-61 lead into the locker room, you could argue they were rather fortunate defensively. Oklahoma City shot an uncharacteristically poor 0/13 from deep in the first half.

The second half remained close and at one point late in the 4th quarter it seemed like the team that was supposed to win was going to do just that. Instead, a combination of costly Thunder turnovers, Andrew Nembhard 3s, and TJ McConnell being the pest he was born to be kept Indiana in the drivers seat.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an opportunity to tie the game with 10 seconds to go but tight defense from Benn Mathurin forced him into one of his few misses of the night.

From there the Pacers took care of business at the free throw line to close out the game.

Box Score Notables

Pacers

  • Jalen Smith had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
  • Nembhard had 18 points and six assists.
  • Mathurin had 15 points.
  • Hield, Nwora, and Jackson all scored 13 points.

Thunder

  • SGA had 39 points, nine rebounds and four assists, going 17-17 from the line.
  • Josh Giddey had 21 points and seven rebounds.
  • Jalen Williams had 14 points, six assists and six rebounds.
  • Lu Dort finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Around the League

  • The Bulls beat the Hornets dropping the Pacers' tragic number to 2.
  • The Magic beat the Wizards, putting the Pacers a half game in front of the Magic and a half game behind the Wizards.
  • The Rockets beat the Pistons, giving them the same amount of wins as the Spurs (though they still have two more losses).

In conclusion, it wasn't the best day for our draft status but the boys went out and got a tough win in an entertaining game. That counts for something.

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