Indiana Pacers: How the last 8 playoff teams would fare in a tournament bracket

(1) 2013-14 Indiana Pacers vs. (8) 2016-17 Indiana Pacers

With homecourt advantage, the 2014 Pacers seemed poised to sweep the first two games, but behind Jeff Teague’s 36 points, the 2017 Pacers stunned their counterparts in Game 1. They were then easily thwarted in Game 2, where the higher-seeded Indy squad limited them to 74 points en route to a 33-point drubbing.

Both teams then split Games 3 and 4 in one-sided affairs, setting the stage for a best-of-three series. Game 5 saw Paul George lead the 2014 Pacers to a decisive win to take a 3-2 series lead.

In Game 6, the 2017 Pacers rode an excellent second quarter to force a winner-takes-all Game 7. Ultimately, in overtime, the 2014 Pacers eked out a nail-biting win to take the series in seven behind PG’s 30-point performance.

(4) 2012-13 Indiana Pacers vs. (5) 2018-19 Indiana Pacers

Despite missing Oladipo, the 2019 Pacers managed to squeak past their higher-seeded counterparts in Game 1 behind Bojan Bogdanovic’s 32 and Sabonis’ 24-point double-double. Game 2 was neck and neck between the two teams, but the 2019 squad’s spectacular bench play won them the fourth quarter to win by 17.

Down 0-2, the 2013 Pacers escaped with a 113-107 victory led by George Hill’s 26 points and some surprising play from Gerald Green and Mahinmi off the bench. However, the 2019 Pacers locked them up in Game 4 and held on to win behind Bogdanovic’s 20 to take a decisive 3-1 edge.

Game 5 saw the 2013 Pacers go back to their defensive engine, limiting the 2018 team to just nine points in the third frame to win by 11 led by Hibbert and George. Game 6 was the same story, with 2013 Indy forcing a winner-takes-all Game 7 by holding the 2018 Pacers to a paltry 34.1 percent shooting. Ultimately, Bogdanovic and Wesley Matthews swished key shots in the fourth quarter of Game 7 to take the series on the road despite George and West combining for 51.