Chris Goff: Pacers exorcised demons in best game of 2012

admin January 3, 2013 0

By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent

With a 3-1 series lead and Dwight Howard schmoozing with his chiropractor, the game should have been anticlimactic.

The Indiana Pacers were going to defeat the Orlando Magic. They inevitably would seize their first playoff series victory since 2005. And they would move on to bigger things, advance to face another team from Florida – you know, the one that employs LeBron James.

Yet when the final buzzer sounded – Pacers 105, Magic 87 – a crowded fieldhouse knew it was a memorable win.

Not because of the fourth quarter domination. Not because of Danny Granger’s 25 points. Not because of anything, really, that happened in this particular game on May 8, 2012.

The joy of the moment was all about the journey. Overcoming seasons past – all the injuries, the ninth-place finishes, the unhappy locker rooms, the growing pains of young players, the ineptitude of Solomon Jones and Luther Head and Josh McRoberts, all the fouls on defense, the buyout of Jamaal Tinsley, Club Rio, the bar brawl, drugs, that one sad night in Detroit – made Game 5 against Orlando precious.

Being in the arena that night felt like watching an awards show. The adversity was weathered, the hard work done. All the fans had to do was stand and cheer as the Pacers trotted onstage for formal recognition.

Alas, the honors were presented on NBA TV rather than the brighter spotlight of TNT or ESPN, but no matter. The country had hardly talked about the Pacers all season, even as they won 42 games and grabbed a No. 3 seed.

Whatever the networks thought, irrelevancy was in the past. The Pacers were back where so many believe they belong – as a contender in the Eastern Conference – and this game would cement it.

While a sold-out Bankers Life Fieldhouse anticipated the knockout blow, the middle quarters provided at least a dose of suspense.

Indiana held a 15-point lead early before going into a serious funk as the Magic pulled within 50-47 at halftime. For the series, this was an ongoing theme: Orlando either led or trailed by no more than three points at intermission in four of the five games.

The Pacers, a team with three ABA titles, 39 All-Stars and 20 playoff series wins in its proud history, could cope. After all, they had been bounced out of the postseason the previous year by the Chicago Bulls. Prior to that near sweep, the franchise had missed the playoffs four seasons in a row. Nobody minded waiting to see a postseason game put away.

The home team was actually behind 72-69 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Then faster than Slick Leonard could say “Boom baby!” the Pacers ripped off a 9-1 run, capped by a Darren Collison 3 that sent the crowd from jittery to boisterous.

From that point on, the fans expected every 3-point attempt to swish through, and that was about what happened. Granger made a couple more. Paul George hit one. Before you knew it, on a Tuesday night in springtime, Hoosiers were serenading the Pacers with a Beat the Heat! chant.

More than 18,000 happy onlookers had moved on, looking forward to the second round for the first time in seven years. The series was over. And so were the down times.