NBA Hoosiers (Aug. 24): Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers Sent Packing by Miami Heat
The bubble finally burst on Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Oladipo had his best game since the NBA season resumed inside the bubble at Disney World near Orlando, scoring 25 points during Game 4 of the Indiana Pacers' first-round series with the Miami. But it wasn't enough, and the Pacers lost 99-87 to be swept by the Heat.
It was the fifth-straight year that the Pacers lost in the first round of the playoffs, and the third time they've been swept during that time span. This year felt different though, because the Pacers were really playing well during the second half of the season, but injuries derailed their ability to put a full team together.
Since the 2014 Eastern Conference finals — also against the Miami Heat — the Pacers have an 8-24 record in the playoffs.
But they played this round without Oladipo still 100 percent, and they didn't have All-Star Domantas Sabonis (foot) and Jeremy Lamb (knee) for the playoffs
"Once you get into the playoffs, you need everybody," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said after the loss. "You're playing against the best. Coming down to this bubble, I thought we had everybody ... and Domas got injured and wasn't able to play in any of these games. It was just a tough adjustment for us."
The Pacers finished the regular season in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but the matchup with the Heat was a bad one. Indiana had lost all three regular season games to the Heat, not counting the season finale in the bubble where neither team played their starters.
Miami won the first three games with lights-out perimeter shooting, but Indiana did a much better job defensively in Game 4. The Heat made only 8-of-30 three-pointers — they had made 45 combined three-pointers in the first three games — but the Pacers struggled to score themselves and couldn't take advantage of their better defensive play.
Oladipo was great on both ends, scoring 25 points on 5-for-11 shooting from tjree-point range, with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. His 25 points were the most since the season resumed on Aug. 1 and his second-most this season, topped only by his 27 against Boston on March 10 the last game before the break for COVID-19 and just his 12th game since returning from a serious quad injury.
Victor Oladipo had a great stat line on Monday, with 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in the Game 4 loss to the Heat. (USA Today Sports)
The Pacers took their first lead of the second half on a JaKarr Sampson jumper with 9:43 left to go up 87-85, but it was Miami that could finish, and not the Pacers.
"They just made big plays down the stretch," Oladipo said. "Credit them. They played four great games, they won four different ways. We've got to do a better job (and) use this as fuel for the offseason. I know I plan to do that."
Looking ahead is an interesting thought from Oladipo, because he's entering the final year of his four-year $84 million contract, and a huge payday is on the horizon. There's plenty of debate on both sides about whether the former All-Star is a max-contract guy, and there's also been plenty of talk about whether the Pacers should trade him to get something in return instead of potentially losing him for nothing in free agency.
Oladipo would have none of that on Monday. He's focused on coming back healthy, and making a serious run with a full and complete Pacers roster
"Right now my main focus is getting healthy,'' Oladipo said. "Getting 100 percent healthy internally and externally and coming back next year a different human being. that's the only thing I'm focused on.
"I felt like from game in and game out, I was slowly but surely building the rhythm of the game, but I've got to just keep building the strength and the trust in my quad. I'm close, but I'm not there yet."
Myles Turner had 22 points for the Pacers, and T.J. Warren added 21. He averaged 20 points per game in the four losses, which was far off his average (31.0) in the restart.
Monday's other NBA games
- Oklahoma City Thunder 117, Houston Rockets 114: Former Hoosier Eric Gordon scored 23 points for the Houston Rockets, but it wasn't enough in the loss to the Thunder. The series is now tied 2-2 The Rockets broke their own playoff record with 58 attempted three-pointers, and shot an improved 39.7% with 23 made triples. The problem, though, was that they made just 5 of their final 26 long balls and let a lead slip away for the second straight game. "They played a little bit better than we did down the stretch," Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni said postgame. "I thought he had our looks, we didn't make them. We turned the ball over a couple of times, that hurt us. It was well fought." Gordon was 8-for-15 from the field, and 3-for-8 from three-point range. He also made all four free throws.
- Los Angeles Lakers 135, Portland Trail Blazers 113: The Lakers took complete control of the series with a blowout victory, and now lead 3-1. LeBron James had 30 points and Anthony Davis had 18 on Kobe Bryant Day (Aug. 24). They can wrap up the series on Wednesday
- Milwaukee Bucks 121, Orlando Magic 106: The Bucks, the No. 1 seed in the East, matched the Lakers with turning their series around as well, winning their third straight against Orlando.
Tuesday's NBA games
- Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets, 6:30 p.m ET (TV: TNT): The sixth-seeded Utah Jazz look to close out their series with Denver on Tuesday in what would be the biggest upset of the first round by far. Former Hoosier Juwan Morgan has played a big role for the Jazz, starting the first two games when Michael Conley was away from the team for the birth of his child. He's come off the bench in the last two, and is a combined plus 47 while on the floor during the season. Former Hoosier Noah Vonleh has only played three minutes for the Nuggets thus far in the series.
- Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Clippers, 9 p.m. ET (TV: TNT): Game 5 in what might be the best first-round series of the NBA playoffs continues inside the Orlando bubble. Luka Doncic has become a superstar in these playoffs, averaging 31.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists a game thus far, and hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to win Game 4.
Boston (Romeo Langford) and Toronto (OG Anunoby) have already won their first-round series. They will play each other in the second round, starting on Thursday.
Former Hoosiers Thomas Bryant (Washington) and Yogi Ferrell (Sacramento) were in the bubble for the eight-game regular season but didn't make the playoffs. Cody Zeller (Charlotte), the ninth Hoosier in the Pros, didn't quality to play in the bubble. The Hornets were one of eight teams to not get invited to Orlando.
