The NBA: Where the Pacers Collapsing the 4th Quarter (and Pretty Much the Whole Second Half) Happens…

A series of losses have been going for Indiana in the last five games. And in those five games, the losses are the games they definitely should’ve won. Easily. But yet, things couldn’t be worse than the next few games they play, teams like the Celtics, Hawks, and Heat. All of them may as well be losses as the Pacers head on over to 9-20.

But yet, you could be a Bulls fan. I mean, at least the Pacers don’t blow 35-point leads against teams like the Kings. But still, the Pacers stink. They have come so close, even against contenders, and lose…and without Granger!

But let’s examine these last three games, which were losses. Let’s start with the Grizzlies game.

Okay, the first quarter was okay. The Pacers went on a 16-8 run after a 20-8 deficit. At the end of the quarter, it was 28-24. As Indy entered the second, they were on fire, as they scored 32 points in that quarter alone, compared to Memphis’ 23. It was 57-51 at halftime.

But then, the second-half came. And with that, the Pacers failed to accomplish a win. Just one simple task. The Pacers just blew it there. They were outscored 56-38 in the second half, including 32-17 in the third.

It was 107-94. Not a good game. Horrible.

And then there was the Spurs game. Very very unexpected. The Pacers came out strong, and were trailing 50-46 at the half. That was unexpected, even without Granger. Then in the third, Indiana couldn’t be stopped, and outscored San Antonio, 38-20.

It was 84-70 in the start of the fourth quarter! And they blew it. It all ended when Richard Jefferson made a fabulous dunk to make San Antonio come back in the game, 89-83. Soon, the Spurs gained their lead back and were ahead by one, 96-95. The Pacers marched back strong, and were leading 99-98.

And then came Tim Duncan, who ended it with a dunk to give the Spurs the win at 100-99. T.J. Ford came in and made missed a jumper. Then, my dog farted. The Pacers were outscored in the fourth, 30-16.

The Pacers just keep continuing to struggle in fourth quarter/all of second half. First, they come out strong in first half, or just the third quarter sometimes, but blow it. Blow a perfect lead. Heck, they should be 12-14 besides an he’s-an-asshole 9-17 record.

And then, there are those Bucks. That game was just literally horse piss. I swear. It was 43-36 at the half, Pacers lead. That seemed like a win. I mean, come on, it’s the Bucks! The Bucks! The Pacers were looking for their tenth straight win against them. But they ended their streak at nine straight wins, which is how many games the Pacers have won total.

But again, like I said, you could be a Bulls fan. The Pacers blew their lead in the second half, being outscored 48-38, including 29-20 in the third. But it was also some of the Pacers thinking. Why give it to T.J. Ford to win the damn game? Why not Lil Dun? Why not Hibbert for Christ’s sake? If they did use Ford, why not just make him it two-pointers. It would be 84-83. Pacers foul Bogut, and he missed both FT’s, remember? And then all the Pacers need is a simple shot to win besides some three-pointer to tie the game, and still have a chance of losing.

So let’s take a look at the total boxscore against the opponents the Pacers have faced:

Now as you can see, this is not good at all. The Pacers are strongest in the second quarter, as they always take the lead usually. In the third, they slip a bit. But take a good hard look at the fourth. That’s how they lose. The fourth quarter screws the Pacers up.

It’s time to fix that problem. It is not looking good, not at all. Indiana, please, just fix it. These last three games have been heartbreaking. These last three games all should have been wins.

What will the next three games be like?

I know, it looks horrible. Pacers fans, I know how you feel.

But yet, you could be a fan of the Bulls.