Jermaine O’Neal scores 18 points in Big3 debut

Ice Cube’s Big3 league got underway with a few former Indiana Pacers players on Sunday, including Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson.

It took a game-winning 3-pointer to defeat Jermaine O’Neal and Tri-State, but it was all part of an apparently successful debut for the Big3 in Brooklyn, New York.

O’Neal scored 18 points in the game, but DeShawn Stevenson’s 3-pointer pushed Power over the line in a 61-58 victory over Tri-State.

In case you missed it, the Big3 is a league formed by Ice Cube that features former NBA players — including O’Neal, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, and several other former Pacers — with a few tweaks to the game.

One of which is the games are to 60 (win by two), which is why Stevenson’s shot was the game-winner.

Other former Pacers in action on Sunday included:

3’s Company 61, Ball Hogs 51

Allen Iverson’s 3’s Company beat Rasual Butler’s Ball Hogs despite Butler knocking down six 3-pointers and scoring 22 points. 3’s Company also included Andre Owens, who played for the Pacers in 2008.

Trilogy 60, Killer 3’s 45

Al Harrington scored 25 points in a lopsided win for Trilogy, while Stephen Jackson’s 17 made him the second leading scorer for the Killer 3’s in their losing effort.

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The games will air tonight at 8 p.m. on FS1.

If this season goes well, we might see more former players buy in and build up the talent level for the second season (if there is one), but the mix of nostalgia and hard-nosed basketball (as well as TV coverage) should give it a fighting chance of making it that long.

Part of the fun is some of the gimmicks the league uses, but none are too outlandish. Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press explains.

"The game has gimmicks – Lewis made the first 4-point shot and teams had 14 seconds to shoot. Team names included 3’s Company and Killer 3s and some players wore nicknames on their jerseys, with Jerome Williams going with “Junk Yard Dog” on his.Cube vowed the games would be competitive – players are vying for a revenue share based on final league standings – and there was a possession early when players on both teams dived on the floor for a loose ball. There was pushing and shoving in the post and a few hard fouls, and the physicality and trash talk appeared to heat up as the game went on."

Any basketball to fill the gap between the NBA Finals in June and the start of the next season in October is a good idea, and hopefully, the Big3 has enough quality to carry its own weight until then.

Next: Pacers discussing three-team deal

The league will be back in action on July 2nd, in Charlotte, NC.