The Pacers made history and won the first home finals victory since the team was founded

When the final whistle rang at the Gambrige Stadium and the score was frozen at 121 to 118, the entire Indianapolis fell into a three-minute tsunami. Fans tear up the blue towel with the words "Pacers" printed on it. The players on the bench threw Gatorade in the ice bucket at coach Carlisle. Halliburton was still holding the statistics list when he was pressed by his teammates on the floor. This piece of paper records the most brilliant night in the history of the Pacers: for the first time in 47 years of founding the team, he won the finals at home, leading the Nuggets 2-1 in the series, and was only two games away from the O'Brien Cup.

The script of this night is full of drama. Jokic scored 18 points in the third quarter and led the Nuggets to a 21-6 offensive climax. When the score difference reached 15 points, the broadcast camera swept over Reggie Miller, who was covering his face in the audience. This legendary shooter led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1995, but encountered the backlash from "Miller Moment" before the end of the game. But the new generation of Pacers pays tribute to history in a crazier way: at the beginning of the fourth quarter, substitute point guard TJ McConnell steals Murray three times in a row, while Halliburton hits 4 three-pointers in 2 minutes and 48 seconds, including a super long shot stepping on the logo in the middle circle. ESPN post-match data showed that the Pacers scored 42 points in the final quarter, setting the third highest record in a single quarter in the NBA Finals history.

"The genes of running and bombing flowed in our veins. " Halliburton, who scored 32 points and 14 assists, said at a press conference. The 24-year-old point guard completed his transformation in G3. When the Nuggets used Gordon to defend the game, he took the initiative to increase the proportion of running without the ball. After receiving the ball in the second quarter, he immediately looked pass to the shot of Nembhard, the NBA official Twitter titled "Picasso-style pass". What's even more amazing is the improvement in the defensive end. He limited Murray to averaging 19.3 points per game in the first three games of the series, with a shooting percentage of only 41.7%, down 8 percentage points from the Western Conference Finals.

Pacer's counterattack code is hidden in the details. Coach Carlisle secretly adjusted his defensive strategy before the finals, requiring Turner to take "sinking and retreating + weak side rotation" when encountering a pick-and-roll and switch unconventionally. This change reduced Jokic's average assists per game to 6.3, far lower than the 9.8 times in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The bench contributes the strongest firepower in the league. In G3, the Pacers crushed the Nuggets with a bench score of 56-21, with Obi Toppin scoring double-digit points in three consecutive games. The Knicks abandoned the finals with a plus-minus value of up to +38. "They are like sharks that smell bloody." The Nuggets' reporter wrote in the column. The forward-looking layout of the

management also contributes to the indelible contribution. Last offseason, when other teams chased superstars, Pacers president Prichard exchanged Sabonis for Halliburton and signed Bruce Brown, who is regarded as a "dressing room poison." These operations were questioned at the time, but now Brown has become the sharp knife to mark Murray, and Halliburton's growth trajectory is reminiscent of Nowitzki, the German chariot that led the unpopular Mavericks to win the championship in 2011. Team salary expert Max revealed that the Pacers currently ranks 22nd in the league in total salary, but it is the first "non-luxury tax team" to reach the finals in the past decade.

This car city is experiencing the most moving revival in sports history. During the finals, the local Auto Workers Federation announced that it would include the playoff bonus in the labor and capital agreement; the city council passed a resolution overnight, planning to build a 33-meter-high "cornfield crown" sculpture in the city center - paying tribute to the team's classic yellow and blue color scheme and Indiana agricultural tradition. What is even more touching is the story of veteran James Johnson. The 37-year-old striker caused a key offensive foul at the last moment of G3. After the game, the reporter found that he was wearing a blood-seeking bandage on his left knee. "I almost retired last year, but now I want to fight for these young people for another six minutes. "

Historical data shows that the team leading 2-1 in the NBA Finals is 72.3% chance of winning the championship. But Nuggets coach Malone warned in an interview: "The switch for our defending champion has not been turned on yet." Jokic practiced 100 free throws after the G3 game, and Murray was photographed studying Halliburton's pass video at 2 a.m. For Pacers, the real test may be in G4, and they need to prove that this victory is not accidental, but the beginning of the rise of the dynasty.

When the smell of champagne in the locker room gradually dissipated, Halliburton posted a video on social media: the camera swept through the 1976 ABA championship flag, Reggie Miller's No. 31 retired jersey, and finally frozen in the empty championship pennant hanging. "There are two games left." The caption is so written. In June, which belongs to the blue craze, the Indianaman has touched the outline of the O'Brien Cup for the first time.

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