Pacers Had Their Shots but Now Have No Shot

It was 53 minutes of bold, brilliant basketball that ended with a rim shot, which likely will resonate for a long time into the future of the Indiana Pacers.

As Reggie Miller’s final three-point fling hung in the air, so did this NBA finals. This Game 4 was the series and every one in Conseco Fieldhouse, every one on both teams, everyone watching on television, knew it. Win it, and the Pacers would not only have evened the series at 2, but tipped the emotional scales in their balance.

Lose it, and they’re down 3-1, facing the improbable task of beating the Lakers three successive times, including twice in their building.

That’s what was riding on that shot. That’s also what was riding on the shot that Travis Best put up over Shaquille O?Neal at the end of regulation. Make either one of those, and the Pacers would have had something very big going on here.

The Lakers’ victory lap--as the finals have been called--now would have had big hurdles to be cleared. The Lakers’ arrogance would have punctured, their self-assuredness erased.

But the Pacers missed both of those. Miller’s bounced off the iron and into the sound of a buzzer that sounded louder as Conseco Fieldhouse went instantly quiet.

Still, that was better than Best’s attempt, which didn’t even make it to the rim.

It shouldn’t have ended like this. It should have ended with someone--from either team--making a shot, not that Kobe Bryant didn’t, or Miller, or Rik Smits or, of course, O’Neal.

There were so many wonderful plays. So much heart and guts and toughness, from both teams. Any play, any shot here or there over those 53 minutes, might have made the difference. But it came down to two shots. And those will be the shots that linger and tease and tantalize and always raise the question, what if?