First of all, there’s a headline I never thought I’d type.
For the past few months, people have wondered what rock bottom for the Indiana Pacers might look like, and today we may have found our answer. The Atlanta Hawks became the third road team to win on the first day of the NBA Playoffs, downing the reeling Pacers with relative ease, 101-93. The game wasn’t even that close, either. The Hawks carried a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter and were never really threatened.
The Hawks’ surprising performance was capped by two unlikely defensive plays from Kyle Korver, a sharpshooter who has never been known for his defense, much less any semblance of shot-blocking prowess. Korver, who gives up seven inches to the 7-foot-2-inch Roy Hibbert, somehow managed to swat two of the big man’s shots, adding more misery to the Pacers’ nightmarish past few months.
