Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner drew some attention with a viral reaction to his team’s Game 2 miracle win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana had no business winning this game and was down by seven points with less than 50 seconds left. But like the series-sealing win over the Milwaukee Bucks , Tyrese Haliburton and company maintained their belief. The face of the Pacers’ franchise ended up hitting the game-winning three, clinching the 120-119 victory.
Indiana has not won two games on Cleveland’s home court and is in firm control of a return to the Conference Finals. So much for last season being a fluke. Turner immediately sent out a simple yet fitting reaction to the stunning result.
The Pacers once again showcased their underrated grit
Just cause Indiana is an offense-first team does not mean this group isn’t resilient. The Pacers were down most of this game, largely thanks to Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell. The All-NBA shooting guard finished the contest with 48 points. But it wasn’t enough, and Indiana slowly but surely worked its way back into the game down the stretch thanks to some clutch shot-making and gritty defense. And Haliburton was able to overcome an early injury scare to prove that he is one of the most underrated closers in this league.
Huge credit goes out to Aaron Nesmith, who finished the game with 23 points and was an absolute demon on defense. The small forward recorded three blocks and one steal, making several huge plays in the latter stages. In addition, Myles Turner scored 23 points with eight rebounds and five blocks. It was a total team effort for the Pacers, as it has been for all of this postseason so far. However, the job is not done yet, and the Cavs will undoubtedly be a desperate team in Game 3. The question is whether Cleveland will return Darius Garland, DeAndre Hunter, or Evan Mobley, who all missed tonight’s clash.
Overall, though, the Pacers deserve their flowers for tonight. This squad has been belittled as a one-dimensional team with a limited ceiling. But with every playoff series, Indiana seems to be changing and expanding that glass ceiling. Who knows, maybe a few weeks from now, the general public will be saying the sky is the limit for this group. It’s entirely possible with the way the Pacers are playing right now and if the rest of the East wasn’t on notice about this team before, they should be now.
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