T.J. McConnell led Pacers back from early hole, then defense put Magic away
The Pacers trailed after 1 and missed 10 of 11 3s in the first half. But then they outscored the Magic by 18 points in the third while holding them to 97 points total — a season-low for an opponent.
The Pacers were in Orlando on Sunday for their third straight game against a playoff opponent. The Magic not only beat the Pacers twice already in Indiana, but they also entered the matchup as one of the hottest team’s in the league with eight wins over their last 10 games.
And because of their size, length and physicality, the Pacers knew they were in for a tough challenge in their first of four games this week.
We also wondered how the Pacers would perform after learning on Saturday that second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin needed shoulder surgery and would be out for the rest of the season. That’s a substantial loss, even more so as they make a playoff push in the final month of the season. On top of that, Doug McDermott continues to miss time with a calf strain and they traded away guards Bruce Brown and Buddy Hield.
So… who would step up?
First up was T.J. McConnell. He’s too often underappreciated and taken for granted. He started the season out of the rotation, accepted it, but kept working. And that didn’t last long because he continues to prove that he’s far too good for a ‘DNP.’