Pacers clinch additional home game in tournament
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — Black Friday. Blue court. The stage was set for a fun night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. I know one team that has enjoyed the new NBA In-Season Tournament: The Indiana Pacers. After defeating the Detroit Pistons on Friday evening, the Pacers improved to 4-0 in tournament play. They had already clinched their Pool after beating Atlanta on Tuesday. With Friday’s win, they also clinched a home game in the next phase of the tournament.
“It shows we’re able to step up,” said Myles Turner after the win. “It’s obviously not the playoffs, but it’s a playoff feel. It’s big time. We were able to take care of home, and take care of this first part of the tournament.”
Turner was one of many Pacers to have a big night. He scored the first nine points of the game for Indy, before battling foul trouble the rest of the night. In just 27 minutes, Turner finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high five blocks. He had some big plays down the stretch, along with Bruce Brown, who gave us this dunk:
The energy in the building really ramped up after that play, and the Pacers were able to pull away with a dominating fourth quarter. It was 39-17 in favor of the home squad in those final 12 minutes, including a 19-1 run to end the game. On top of that dunk, Brown also stepped up on the defensive end.
Rick Carlisle gave Brown the challenge, and he accepted: “Around halftime, I said to Bruce- ‘This is why we brought you to Indiana. You’ve got to do a job on Cunningham and make it difficult.’ And he was held to nine points in the 2nd half.”
Because of his team’s effort, Carlisle is excited for the chance to play a home game in the knockout rounds: “We know we’ll be hosting the first knockout game,” he said. “And that’s enormous for our team, for our organization, for our front office, and for our fans. That’s going to be another opportunity for us. I’m real proud of the guys and the effort they put into this.”
The Pacers have given away several games this season, and still have plenty of issues on the defensive end. They also boast the top offense in the NBA and are playing an exciting brand of basketball. Nine players were in the rotation on Friday night, and all nine scored 8+ points. Out of the 15 games played this season, they’ve been blown out twice, and have had a great chance to win in the other 13 games. The Pacers will host Portland on Monday before heading out on a road trip that will now be broken up because of the home tournament game. They’ll wait to see if they’re the one or two-seed, and will also wait to see if that home tourney game will be held on December 4th or 5th at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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