Notebook: The Pacers are finding their rhythm
Pacers have won a season-best four straight wins. Can they make it five before Christmas. Plus, what's working, new TV streaming offer, ASG format change, Donnie Walsh is due, and taking in IU at ND.
Are the Pacers having fun again? It sure looks that way.
They didn’t just handle the Sacramento Kings in the second half on Sunday evening. They were clowning on them to finish the game.
Looking for somewhere to go with the ball, Jarace Walker threw the basketball off the glass to himself, then darted a pass to Thomas Bryant in the corner for a 3-pointer. Then James Johnson drove the baseline, made a move and dished to Johnny Furphy for a two-handed slam.
If the team is looking for new photos to enlarge and hang inside the locker room, here are a couple of options. Because during those consecutive offensive possessions, the story of the bench was even more impactful.
Everyone up. Everyone cheering. There was joy. Starters watched as bench guys, including Johnson, played and finished the game with a strong punctuation in a 122-95 win over the Kings. That had to make Tyrese Haliburton proud given how it was his return game — facing the team that first traded him away.
The game was even at 52 at the break, then the Pacers steamrolled them by 27 over the final 24 minutes to roll to their fourth straight victory — a key achievement during a season that started rocky.
Now as they’re just less than 100 miles south west in San Francisco, a win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday to close out a three-game road trip wouldn’t just be a fantastic end to the trip and start for their Christmas, but it would also move their record back to .500 for the first time since they were 5-5 in the first 10 games.
So what’s working?