8 points, 9 seconds
Fansided

Indiana Pacers 15 greatest playoff moments

By Jonathan Matthes

INDIANAPOLIS - APRIL 28: Reggie Miller #31 of the Indiana Pacers sits on the scorer's table during the game against the Boston Celtics in Game three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2005 NBA Playoffs at Conseco Fieldhouse on April 28, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 99-76 to take a 2-1 series lead. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - APRIL 28: Reggie Miller #31 of the Indiana Pacers sits on the scorer's table during the game against the Boston Celtics in Game three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2005 NBA Playoffs at Conseco Fieldhouse on April 28, 2005 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Pacers won 99-76 to take a 2-1 series lead. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2005 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers NBA Playoffs (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

From Reggie and Rik, to Big Mac, the Raja and Slick, the playoffs have been a memorable time for the Indiana Pacers. Here are the 15 best moments.

The NBA Playoffs are a time of heightened tension, raucous roars, and moments both forgettable and indelible. They are the type of moments that can define a franchise, and the Indiana Pacers are one of those whose identity has been forged by the dramatic.

Stirring comebacks, last-second heroics and Reggie Miller all fold into the fabric that is the Indiana Pacers.

And that’s what this list is about, chronicling the 15 most memorable moments in Indiana Pacers playoff history. Some very tough cuts were made to get the list down to just 15.

The pinnacle of Roy Hibbert’s career (the game six rejection of Carmelo Anthony in the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals) did not make the list.

Neither did Tyler Hansbrough’s singular moment of NBA dominance, when he startled Chicago with 22 points in game one of the 2011 first round tilt.

Also not making the cut was Indiana’s first taste of NBA playoff success, in 1991, when the Pacers took Larry Bird and the heavily-favored Boston Celtics to a decisive game five.

Same for the adorable moment, in a desperate and kind of pathetic way, when the Pacers received a standing ovation from Indiana’s home fans after an 11-point defeat to complete a two-game sweep by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1981.

The Indiana Pacers fans of 1981 were just thrilled to see their team that had only known triumph for the better part of a decade, finally get back to the postseason after a four-year absence. The Pacers wouldn’t get back for five more seasons after the fans exited Market Square Arena that night. For those Pacers fans who applauded a defeated team, some of the moments on the list that follows were fresh in their memories.

They’d witnessed the three championships, the five conference finals, the hall-of-famers first-hand. But the majority of this list would have been unimaginable to even the most optimistic. In future years their team would change league-wide impressions of the lethality of the 3-point shot, what unrecoverable deficits actually are, and the invulnerability of the historic NBA franchises (namely the one in New York).

The best of those moments, both seen and unseen by 1981’s eyes, follow.

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