After losing in embarrassing fashion on Sunday to the Orlando Magic, Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers hopped on the team plane and flew down south for their final In-Season Tournament group play game against the Atlanta Hawks.
I attended the game in person, as this was my first Indiana Pacers game ever, and I more than got my money's worth, which doesn't even include Myles Turner signing my hat.
MYLES TURNER JUST SIGNED MY HAT #BoomBaby pic.twitter.com/p5rz4tX1x0
— The House that Kami Built (@KamitronPTW) November 22, 2023
This was the most exciting game of the entire season. Not just the Pacers season, but the entire NBA season.
Both teams traded stellar offensive halves as the Pacers clawed back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat the Hawks by an absurd final score of 157-152, all in regulation, with the Pacers' 157 points setting a new franchise record.
As the score suggests, there was little to no defense played on Tuesday, as the combined score of 309 was indicative of a shootout, which was amazing to watch in person. Both teams went pound-for-pound in a heavyweight bout of scoring excellence.
With this win, Indiana became the first team to ever clinch a spot in the In-Season Tournament knockout round, sweeping group play with a +16 point spread.
As with every game this season, there was good and bad, and while the final outcome of Tuesday night will always be a Pacers win, it was very close to going the other way. Here's what I gathered at the game and looking at the stats.