You knew Reggie wouldn't be cold for long. He came out hot and stayed that way for a while. He brought his sidekick with him too as Stephen Jackson kept up the pace from game one. Our slow rotations out to the 3 point line didn't help, but credit their crisp ball movement too.
Once again, the B-Unit got us back in the game with hustle and energy, but it they didn't dominate the way they did in game 1. The first unit needs to stop putting them in that position. We've got to find a way to come out with better intencity.
The 3rd quarter was the Paul Pierce show, as he got to the line over and over again. Reggie and Stephen went cold thanks in part to an awsome display of defense by the whole team. If only we could have closed out the same way.
The 4th quarter was another collapse due to lack of urgency on defense and lack of purpose on offense. They looked like they forgot how to play all of a sudden. Down only a few points coming down the stretch, the blood was in the water and the Pacers went for the kill. Setting up Reggie to once again put a nail in the coffin.
As that play was developing, I was yelling at the screen, "just keep it away from Reggie!" Easier said. I tip my hat to him. He is one of the greats and this is what he does. We just can't let him get in that position again. We need to learn how to protect a lead (a problem all year) or we're not going to do anything in these playoffs. Now we've lost that home court advantage that we worked so hard to get.
Just a tough loss.