Indy's Haymaker:NBA Finals Game Three Recap
Indiana’s game three victory felt less like a basketball game and more like the final battle of Super Mario Bros when you defeat Bowser only for him to come back bigger, badder, and with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists, and in the form of a star point guard named Tyrese Haliburton. This game was honestly just beautiful basketball from start to finish, with defense thicker than Ben Sheppards mustache. And seeing that 80% of teams who win game three go on to win the series, I'd be pretty happy to be rooting for the Pacers right now. This was a pivotal home game for the Pacers who walked away leading the series 2-1.
I want to highlight some players that fly under the radar on both of these teams, but ought not to be discredited for their vital performances. After Luguentz Dort cashed his third triple of the first quarter, I thought I was watching the second coming of Raja Bell. He shoots with such an arch in his shot I believe that modern architects could use his shot pattern to reconstruct the Colosseum of Rome.
Another player who deserves to be credited after tonight is T.J. McConnell. Although posting a modest 10 point 1 rebound and 5 assist statline, if you watched the game, you know why he’s getting a mention here. He completely shifted the game in the second quarter, after dishing 4 assists in the first 5 minutes, and forcing a turnover off a lazy inbound pass. The Pacers went on to take a 64-60 lead at halftime. Tonight it felt like watching vintage wildcat McConnell, making life hell for anyone who would doubt the white boy.
Obviously I’m going to give credit to the big guns. Haliburton continues to show why he is indeed called the moment, with his casual playstyle that makes you forget he's absolutely dumbfounded the Thunder defense. Both teams had 3 players score over 20 points, and if I'm being quite honest, I didn’t even notice until now that Bennedict Mathurin had 27 points in 22 minutes off the bench. That’s pretty cool. Asian Duke Dennis also made an appearance in the final 6 seconds of the 1st quarter.
Anyway, Shai did his thing minus 10 or so points and 5 more free throws, Siakam continues to bring pride to the pure power forward position, and Jalen Williams topped the Thunder scoreboard with 26 points. All for nothing though, I guess it really does just mean more for these Pacers.
For an in depth look at the stats click HERE.
-FN