Pacers dominate Cavaliers to force Game 7
I’m still not sure if what I just watched was real or just one of the best dreams of my life, but I'm almost certain that the Pacers just beat the Cavs by 34 points in an elimination game in the NBA Playoffs.
With the season on the line, Victor Oladipo played like a man on fire, racking up 28 points, 13 boards and 10 assists on the way to a 121-87 win in Game 6 on Friday night.
Oladipo dominated on both ends of the floor, but he was a lot more fun to watch on offense. After shooting a combined 4-of-15 from 3-point range the past two games, Indiana’s Favorite Hoosier bounced back in the best of ways, knocking down 6-of-8 long balls Friday.
The feathery finisher also threw down two dunks you might’ve thought he was planning on using in the Dunk Contest. The first came on a fast break after an Oladipo steal, when he threw down a strong reverse slam on a give-and-go from Lance Stephenson.
The second was one for the highlight reels, a dunk they will play for years on the big screen in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Oladipo took a pass on the left wing and blew past J.R. Smith, then soared up above LeBron James and threw down a vicious two-handed tomahawk that surely had the building shaking in Indianapolis.
The icing on the cake for Oladipo came on the defensive end. He grabbed four steals, all in the first quarter, and did a much better job defending Kyle Korver, holding the sharpshooter to just six points and only four shots.
While Oladipo was excellent, he didn’t have to do it all on his own. The Pacers had seven players reach double-digits scoring, including all five starters. As a team, Indiana shot 56 percent from the field, including a series-best 15-of-30 from deep. The Pacers outrebounded the Cavaliers 44-33, and also had 27 assists to Cleveland’s 16.
The Pacers defense was unbelievable, as they were able to hold LeBron to just 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Cleveland’s other four starters combined for just 22 points on 8-of-25 shooting.
The Cavs shot the ball poorly as a team, shooting an abysmal 41.8 percent from the field. Cleveland also jacked up 38 3-pointers and made just 12 of them. The Pacers forced 15 turnovers while coughing the ball up only seven times, and dominated the game wire-to-wire on both ends of the floor.
The Pacers bench scored 46 points, behind 19 points from Domantas Sabonis on 9-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds in just 23 minutes. He has now shot a combined 26-of-35 over the last three games, while averaging 20 points a game over the same span.
Stephenson ran the show for Indiana when the ball wasn’t in Oladipo’s hands, and he did a masterful job of it, scoring 12 points and dishing six assists off the bench. Almost as importantly, Stephenson had zero, I repeat, ZERO turnovers, so it’s safe to say Good Lance was on full display in Game 6.
The Pacers were the better team and Victor Oladipo was the best player in the building on Friday night. If they can come even remotely close to duplicating this performance for Game 7 in Cleveland on Sunday, the second round should be well within their reach.