The Bankers Life Fieldhouse will play home court in this redemption arc, as the Indiana Pacers look to avenge their blown second-half lead in their loss to the comeback kids of Toronto in a rematch, taking place at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN as a part of their Friday night doubleheader.
So, we can just about qualify this Pacers team as an arduous out come playoff time, now compact with guard depth and two all-star (well three, if you count Malcolm Brogdon) caliber players on a Nate McMillan-coached roster that shouldn’t be one of the last teams on anyone’s lists to face in the first round. In the Scotiabank Arena this past Wednesday, Ol’ “Blue-Collar, Gold Swagger” was brilliant for most of Wednesday night in Toronto. They erupted for 43 points in the second quarter, matched a franchise record with 19 3-pointers, and led by 10 points with 2:27 remaining.
And then, everything offensively enriching for the Pacers was nowhere to be found in the game’s final six possessions.
Toronto went ballistic in the game’s waning moments, and on their final six possessions scored at will while forcing four turnovers in the final 1:41. They closed the night with an 11-0 run to stun the Pacers, and of course not complete with the icing on the cake, a standalone three on the J for Serge Ibaka for the win as the Raptors kept their remarkable 11-game winning streak with a 119-118 victory.
The returning Victor Oladipo noticeably struggled in his 5-for-14 shooting night in his first taste of starting minutes this year, complicit in the cold bucketless final seconds in Wednesday night’s loss. Indiana has now dropped three straight and need some momentum if they want to get back into the drivers seat of keeping and maintaining the fifth seed in the Eastern standings, for if they’re able to, they might earn the incentive of avoiding either the streaking Celtics (who are also on a winning streak themselves at five games, respectively) or these Toronto Raptors if either team ends up at the third slot in the East.
The question still persists for these Pacers who look good on paper and could be a dangerous, formidable foe come April: Can they have short memories and answer the adversity by playing four solid quarters against an intimidating, competitive Raptors team literally hours after a gut-wrenching loss?
If the answer to that question is a yes on Friday, that could be a good sign come April.
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