Pacers Taking Their Best Shot

Even if all they did was delay the inevitable Laker victory parade, the Indiana Pacers made their mark on these NBA finals with marksmanship.

They brought back an element that has been missing from the finals for many years: the art of shooting.

What the Pacers lack in market size, they make up for with good old-fashioned basketball skills.

They strafed the Lakers by making 15 of 20 shots in the first quarter Friday night, made 57% overall and rolled to a 120-87 victory in Game 5.

If you enjoyed that Game 4 classic on Wednesday night, thank the Pacers. No game involving the New York Knicks or Miami Heat could ever produce anything that beautiful. The Pacers forced the Lakers to play at their absolute best just to keep close, made the game come down to nothing other than a matter of who made more shots.

The only good to come out of Friday’s game was Indiana’s shooting and Shaquille O’Neal’s offensive effort. The Pacers put on a shooting clinic, and the Lakers stood around and watched while the Pacers took open shot after open shot. No defensive rotation, no jumping out on screens, no recovery when the ball went to the weak side. There were moments when the Pacers had so much time to shoot, they could afford to make calculations like a golfer studying a putt.

When the open shot is there, NBA players have to make it. The Pacers usually do. They finished tied for seventh in field-goal percentage, first in three-point percentage and first in free-throw percentage during the regular season.

The Pacers exceeded even their own high standards Friday night.

They made 10 of 20 three-pointers, 32 of 36 free throws.

Whether it was Reggie Miller coming off screens and draining three-pointers, Rik Smits knocking down baseline jumpers or Jalen Rose throwing in those funky left-handed shots, the Pacers had it going on.

Miller was swinging from side to side, hitting four of six three-pointers. He even got fouled on one to get a four-point play.

Rose made four of five three-pointers, some shot from the old Market Square Arena down the road, and also went to the hoop enough to finish with 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting.

The only Pacer to make less than 57% of his shots in the first half was Sam Perkins, but you should have seen the exhibition he put on before the game.

Near the end, Chris Mullin even got a chance to make one of his frogleg-kick jumpers, just for old-time’s sake.

You half-expected Larry Bird to send himself down to the scorer’s table, check in and make a couple of jumpers.

Bird’s playing days might be over, but he will at least get the chance to coach another game before he yields the reins. In this game, which was potentially the last of the season and definitely the last at Conseco Fieldhouse, “We played as well as we can play,” Bird said.

When teams start shooting well, everyone wants to get in on the act.

Travis Best was playing with a sprained left shoulder on his shooting arm. Do you think that stopped him from firing away as soon as he stepped in the game?

He jacked up two jumpers after entering in the second quarter. The second felt so good he turned and headed downcourt before it even fell through the net.

“When the momentum is going in your favor and the guys are into it and everyone’s playing hard and playing well, everyone’s looking to do their part,” Best said.

“We know we’ve got a lot of firepower on this team. It’s just a matter of playing together and just playing hard.”

The Pacers have more players from Los Angeles than the Lakers (Miller and Austin Croshere), more native New Yorkers than the Knicks (Mark Jackson, Perkins and Mullin). They represent Detroit (Rose) and even Holland and Croatia (Rik Smits, Zan Tabak). The Lakers actually have more Indiana ties than the Pacers (Rick Fox went to high school here).

And yet the Pacers seem to embody that “Hoosiers” aesthetic, like a bunch of guys shooting jump shots on the driveway.

The Indiana stereotypes of hicks and hoops ring true. Drive around the state and you’ll see plenty of barns, many with a basketball rim attached to the side.

The Pacers constantly engage in free-throw shooting competitions at practice, which Miller credits for helping their high percentage from the line. They also spend extra time on their three-point shooting.

With as many open looks as the defensive attention to O’Neal generates for his teammates, if they could shoot like the Pacers the series would already be over. But they don’t, so it’s back to California. The Lakers still hold a 3-2 lead in the series, but the Pacers were so happy to still be alive that they were ready to sing.

“I couldn’t put it any better than LL Cool J, who had the song, ‘I’m Going Back to Cali,’ ” Mark Jackson said in the interview room.

Jackson was still singing when he went back to the locker room.

“Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali.”

He was a little off-key. All that really mattered for the Pacers on Friday was that the shots were on target.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.