Pacers steal Game 1 in shot-making extravaganza

I write wins… not tragedies…

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

Grab. Go. Grab. Go. Grab. Go. The Pacers knew what was up from the moment the ball tipped off and they ran with frenetic pace until the first break in play six minutes into the opening frame. A 19-14 run – is that even a run? probably not – that saw backcourt pressure, and a comfortability to coax shots from power forwards from both teams. The Pacers got to ride a flurry of shots from Pascal Siakam and a whole lot of transition looks to fuel them early on. Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell were both effective early, but the pace belonged to the lower seed, and by proxy of that, so did the style. Although, it didn’t take long for some dives to the basket from the likes of Jarrett Allen, De'Andre Hunter, and Ty Jerome to creep back into things.

With as much offensive talent on the floor as we see between these two teams – even with Darius Garland still out with a sprained toe – the shot-making is always going to be paramount. That shot-making swing was present in the Cavs first run of zone, which teased two 3-point attempts from Nembhard, surrendering a make on one of them, and leading to a 10-0 run from the Pacers to close the quarter out 36-25. The good guys – a little shock jock radio terminology for y'all – went 6-9 from downtown, ran constantly, and looked generally excellent to open the series. Hot Girl Basketball?

With shot variance still stinging the Cavs (they missed quite a few great looks) their M.O. was to get downhill often. Mitchell taking lots of shots, trying to squirm to freedom. Mobley taking, and making, lots of shots as he was the player the Pacers felt comfortable helping off of - although Isaac Okoro became that guy once he hit the hardwood. Credit to Mobley though, as he was very strong on three straight drives. His scoring was essential, as the Pacers were still carving out big chunks of the Cavs paint for themselves. A little wiggle up and under for Toppin. A little wriggle and-1 for Siakam. A slice to the hoop from Mathurin. Cutting. Filling. Willing… themselves into the teeth of it all. Holding serve.

A 16-5 run for the Cavs – hello, shot variance – came during a bit of a sea change in tempo. The Pacers, taking some longer jumpers (even though they made a couple) and not getting as deep in general, were juxtaposed against the Cavaliers, who had started to get the churn they desired. A couple pull ups went down. A couple corners were turned. 

The Cavs took their medicine for most of the first half, taking push shots and middies that were available – they took a third of their attempts in the short mid range, and shot 11/16 from there – and after a couple long range looks dropped in they found themselves closer than they'd been in the previous 12 minutes of gameplay. Hunter was tremendous in this stretch. 

“Donovan Mitchell and his endless inventory of offensive genius.” Was a great nugget from the TNT broadcast, by the way. 

Thought Haliburton and Nembhard did a really strong job of battening down the hatches and sorting through the offensive actions to create enough looks, and enough points to stiff arm the Cavs and keep the six-point lead heading into halftime. The Pacers stayed up with shot making, but there was lots of stuff to clean up in regards to how they took care of the ball, and finding time to pursue extra opportunities on the offensive glass. For the Cavs? Shooting 5-20 from downtown, as one of the best shooting teams in the NBA, well that can turnaround pretty quickly. 

Almost as if on cue, the Cavs started off the second half with a made triple and a couple offensive rebounds. Although, Nesmith had a nice block and triple sequence that should be mentioned. 

Of note: Jarrett Allen's made basket soundbite is the Legend of Zelda chest opening jingle??? Incredible. Stellar. 

Also incredible and stellar? Andrew Nembhard, who made yet another jumper. Also incredible and stellar? Aaron Nesmith who made two triples. A combined 7-9 from deep from the aforementioned duo halfway through the 3rd quarter. The Pacers calmed things down and worked through their options to find great look after great look. On the other end, the Pacers frontcourt, and Siakam in particular, was doing a strong job of putting out defensive fires. Nice to see from the Pacers star, even as his shot making slowed from the initial pop to open the game. An 11-3 run, and a 12 point lead for the Pacers. 

Hard to overstate how great a run Nesmith had, by the way. Banging triples. Knifing to the bucket for free throws. Sliding in the backcourt to force an 8 second violation. Phew. 5th man of the year. 

As NBA games often do though, the Cavs stormed back with a run of their own. Fueled by some sloppy shot attempts, and some turnovers, the Cavs got extra possessions, and run out opportunities to charge toward the rim repeatedly. The Cleveland arena was going nuts. Mitchell came down the lane for a huge dunk. Yet another offensive rebound for the Cavs (9-1 advantage at that point in the game) allowed Mobley to put a hook shot up, and by the time the ball hit the floor, the Cavs had taken the lead. 

A furious run of play. A 20-4 run, and the Cavs first lead since the game was 8-6. The Pacers scored 1 basket in 5 minutes, and went nearly 4 minutes without finding the bottom of the bucket. A merciful corner pocket jumper for Mathurin, created by Haliburton, and a layup, made by Haliburton, put the Pacers back in front. Mitchell followed that up with a layup of his own, though. Siakam knifed middle, collapsed the defense, and found Turner for a corner triple as time expired.

After exhibiting a great amount of control for most of the game, things got wild, and the stage was set for an almost neck and neck final quarter. 92-90, Pacers. 

Winning time. Losing time. Remained to be seen. 

The fourth quarter was grit and grind to begin. Siakam + bench was wriggling to a couple buckets, and trying like hell to make the Cavs work for it on the other end. They lost the minutes by a smidge. The unfortunate outcome of a bit of sloppiness and some gifted offensive rebounds. 

A “screen your own” look from Nembhard & Nesmith got the Pacers guard downhill and he created an open triple for Toppin, but Mitchell came down the court and sliced to the bucket for two. Mitchell was truly unbelievable driving the ball. The jumper wasn't going, but he really was. The Pacers guards responded in kind. Haliburton hit a tremendous step back from downtown and somehow Nembhard topped that with a 30-foot sidestep bomb. That was answered by yet another Mitchell drive and scoop layup. Only, Nembhard wasn't done yet, because he cashed ANOTHER massive triple. 

Insane. Hoops. Shot after shot dropping in, from both sides. 6-point lead for the Pacers. 112-106. 3 and a half minutes to go. 

Winning time. Losing time. Remained to be seen.

Final lineups in. Nesmith stymied Jerome and moved the ball on to Mitchell, who tried to pick out Haliburton for an iso - and Haliburton got the stop, and threw the ball ahead to Siakam for a layup. Jerome tried Haliburton the next time down. No good. Strus gets blocked by Haliburton. What the hell is going on? What the helly-burton? An iso on Allen, a step through, a scoop layup. Hell yeah, Tyrese. 

A 15-4 run over the duration of it all. Holy moly. Great balls of fire. Cavs fans were spilling out early, after being the most raucous playoff crowd I'd seen to that point of the playoffs. The death rattle could be heard in the low rumble of the arena, in the quiet shuffling of footsteps, and the snapping of the net on Nembhard's free throws, and Haliburton's after that. Game 1 belonged to the Pacers.

They have a lot of things to clean up, but they're an uber talented offensive team that rode their shot making to a win. That's allowed. Necessary, even, in the playoffs. Huge win.