RotoWire – Juan Pablo Aravena

Game 1 suffered connectivity issues that forced a restart during the first half, but that didn’t stop the Pacers from getting a win in Game 1, a contest that also marked a first for Jomar — he debuted at point guard and carried his team to a comfortable win. Pacers Gaming quickly took control of the game and jumped to a 19-10 lead in the first quarter and they further extended that lead after a 32-23 second quarter.

The Pacers had no problems increasing their lead throughout the course of the game, ultimately settling for a comfortable 80-58 win. The game ended at 4:15 in the third quarter but, despite the struggle to keep track of what was going on, the one thing that was certain was the fact that the Pacers win was never in doubt.

Jomar thrived as a point guard and ended with 23 points and 10 assists, while Swizurk notched 20 points. WoLF notched 14 points and Bobby Buckets chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers. Choc scored 29 points for the Nets and also added eight assists, but he was the only player in his team that delivered a strong performance. Randomz posted 11 points while shooting 5-for-8 from the field.

The Nets made changes for Game 2, as Wavy, Shuttles and Randomz all changed positions looking to spark things up. The changes paid off, though, as the first half was extremely competitive. Despite the fact the Pacers looked in control, the Nets competed from end to end and, in fact, they finished up by eight points at the halftime break after closing out the second quarter on a 12-0 scoring run.

The Pacers tried to turn things around in the second half and began the third quarter on a 9-2 run, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback before the end of the period. The Pacers managed to shorten the gap, however, and after three the Nets were up by just one point, 55-54. The final quarter saw Jomar take over for the Pacers and he carried the team when they needed it the most, putting the Pacers up by two points midway into the fourth quarter until the Nets lost connection again with only 2:46 left to go in the fourth.
The final minutes of the contest were very intense, as the Nets quickly evened the game, taking advantage of the Pacers’ poor perimeter defense time and time again. The game was tied at 69-69 with only a few seconds remaining, but a key bucket in the final seconds after an inbound pass gave the Nets a two-point win, 71-69, forcing a Game 3.
Choc had 36 points with nine assists for the Nets, while Shuttles chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jomar had 32 points for the Pacers, while Bobby Buckets chipped in with 12 points and 13 boards.

Game 3 started almost one hour late compared to your regular Game 3 and things were extremely tight at first, with both teams going back and forth. That tendency was maintained during the second quarter and the half-time score saw the Pacers up by just three points. They would pull away for good once the second half tipped off, though. Taking advantage of the Nets’ lack of defensive awareness, the Pacers started the second half with a 12-4 scoring run. However, the Nets kept fighting back and somehow managed to end the first quarter down by just one after missing a three-point shot from the logo.

With the Pacers up by one heading into the fourth, everything was at stake for both franchises. The Nets jumped out to a three-point lead with under 1:30 minutes left but Swizerk evened things up with a three. Both sides were tied at 73-73 with nearly 30 seconds on the clock, and the Nets did a better job at managing the final seconds to secure a 77-73 victory.

Choc led the Nets with 31 points and 13 assists, and he also made the dunk that sealed the game away for good. Shuttles looked impressive at center and finished with 24 points and 13 assists. Jomar ended with 22 points for the Pacers, while Swizurk (20 points) and Bobby Buckets (14 points, 21 rebounds) also delivered solid performances.