Heartbreak is too light of a description for what the Pacers and their fans have experienced in the Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics.
The Pacers gave Game 1 away; there is no other way to put it.
Then, in Game 2, Tyrese Haliburton aggravated a hamstring injury that kept him out of Saturday’s devastating Game 3 loss in which Indiana blew an eight-point lead in the final 2:26.
Now, the Pacers face an 0-3 hole that no team in NBA playoff history has ever overcome.
If Haliburton misses Game 4, as expected, it’s difficult to see a path that gets them beyond Memorial Day.
The Pacers threw everything they had at Boston in Game 3 and still could not come away with a victory. In fact, Andrew Nembhard posted a career-high 32 points, while adding nine assists and four rebounds.
Additionally, Indiana got fantastic outings from Myles Turner and T.J. McConnell.
Turner finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while McConnell posted 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The Pacers can’t possibly expect to get that kind of output and efficiency from those three players again in this series against a Boston team that has Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, two of the best defensive guards in the league.
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Furthermore, the Celtics survived 68 points in the paint from Indiana and a seven-rebound deficit. That won’t likely happen again.
Boston should run away with this one and advance to the NBA Finals.
THE PLAY: Celtics -7.5 (-115, ESPN BET)