Pacers season highlights: Sabonis dunks on Embiid

As we remember some of the best highlights from the 2018-19 Indiana Pacers season, we travel back to November to watch Domantas Sabonis dunk all over Joel Embiid.

Ah, early November. Those were much simpler times in the NBA. Most teams had played only about 10 games and were figuring out how talented they were. A great game to assess how truly skilled 2 teams were relative to each other was on November 7th. On that date, Domantas Sabonis and the Indiana Pacers hosted Joel Embiid and the 76ers.

The 6-5 76ers had felt mostly innocuous up to that point in the season, while the Pacers were relatively fresh off an unbelievable win over the Boston Celtics, a game in which Victor Oladipo put on a masterclass in clutch performing. One fanbase was much more optimistic than the other heading into this game.

The first half did us no favors in separating the teams in terms of ability. The Sixers and their terrific starting 5 gave Philly a first-quarter lead, but the depth of Indiana overwhelmed the 76ers in the second quarter. The game had gone pretty much according to the script that everyone predicted and was tied at halftime.

The third quarter was technically a battle on the scoreboard. But this was a game I was present for, and let me tell you, the game did not feel close at all. Everything had started clicking for Philly — their role players were hitting outside shots and their defense was clamping down. The Pacers were just barely keeping pace.

Then — an Indiana run got them back into the game. Oladipo hit a 3 with 3:47 left in the third frame and gave the lead back to the blue and gold. He had 32 of the Indiana Pacers 66 points at that point in time. Vic was literally holding off the Sixers alone. Someone else had to step up.

Enter Domas Sabonis.

Well, sorta enter Sabonis. He had kinda already entered the picture. Domas had checked in a bit earlier than normal this quarter since Joel Embiid did the thing he always does where he gets Myles Turner in foul trouble.

Sabonis had hit a shot and pulled down 3 rebounds in the 6 minutes he had accrued in the 3rd period. It was a pretty ho-hum run of play for the Pacers backup big. He hadn’t left his mark on the half just yet.

Philly went on a 5-0 run after the aforementioned Oladipo 3, and it became time for Domantas Sabonis to make his mark. He took full advantage.

Ka. Boom.

The crowd erupted. Most of Domas’ dunks are rim rattlers, he has a tendency to really hammer it down when he gets an open lane to dunk. This one was no exception. It was thunderous, so much so that Oklahoma City named their team after it.

In the heat of the moment, all you do is celebrate a poster like that. It’s one of those basketball plays that just causes your legs to pull your body up involuntarily. You don’t choose to stand up, your body makes you do it due to awe and jubilation.

Then the heat of the moment cools off, and you’re able to zoom out and realize what just really happened. That wasn’t just any poster. It was on Joel Embiid. One of best defensive bigs in the NBA who, oh, by the way, might be the most polarizing player in terms of likeness in the association right now. That made a dunk personified by power somehow have flair.

The Pacers finally got their spark — the play they needed to go on the run that was supposed to lead them to victory… but that didn’t happen.

Philly deserves a ton of credit. They stayed focused and composed, which allowed them to go on a speedy 8-3 run to end the quarter. They leveraged that run into a dominant start to the 4th quarter and deservedly won the game. They played better on this night.

While the Indiana Pacers lost the game, Domantas Sabonis reminded us all why we love basketball. With a huge game on national TV, Sabonis’ fearlessly put himself and the Pacers on everyone’s radar by throwing it down on Joel Embiid and keeping the Pacers in a game with one of the leagues premier teams. It was jaw-dropping.

Nobody will remember who won that game next season. But we will always remember that dunk, and for that, we thank Sabonis.