Looking back, the Heat game indeed was massive.

The Pacers won it and are the 6 seed and avoid the play-in.

Had the Pacers lost it, they would be the 8 and be preparing to head to Philadelphia for a play-in road game.

Round 1:

3. Bucks
vs.
6. Pacers

Top shooting nights in the NBA this season:

1. Jan 12 - PACERS vs. Hawks 67%
4. April 14 - Pacers vs. Hawks 65%
6. Jan 5 - PACERS vs. Hawks 64%
20. Nov 11 - PACERS vs. Hawks 61%

The Cavs suffer a surprising loss to the Hornets. Milwaukee is down 20...if the Bucks lose:

NYK win: Pacers @ Bucks
NYK loss: Pacers @ Knicks

NYK is down 8 with 8 minutes left.

Since ATL tied the game at 64, the Pacers have responded with a 32-10 run. They're up a game high 22.

Congrats Rick Fuson on a legendary and impactful career 👏

Numerous close games right there, so plenty of potential for change, but if all halftime leads around the NBA held, the playoff series would be:

3. Cavs vs. 6 Pacers

These Pacers/Hawks games are the basketball equivalent of listening to a podcast on 1.5x speed.

The Pacers came out ready. A 49 point first quarter is the most they've scored in the 1st, and the 2nd most in a quarter all season.

Pacers 49
Hawks 34 after 1.

The Hawks injury report lists Clint Capela as questionable (rest).

All other players that played Friday night for them are available.

However, on Friday they played their starters about 3 quarters before going mostly with a bench unit in the 4th. ATL is locked into 10th.

Here is a viewing guide for the playoff scenarios with a Pacers win on Sunday.

Sixers beat Magic, the Pacers for the time being move into 5th, a half game ahead of ORL.

The Pacers will need to win tonight to hold on to it.

They've trailed for nearly the entirety of the night but have pulled within 2, 107-105 6:26 left.

Obi Toppin has a left ankle sprain he will not return.

A unique scenario for scoreboard watching tonight involving Philadelphia vs. Orlando:

If the Pacers win tonight, they'd prefer PHI beat ORL, which would move IND up to 4th.

If the Pacers lose tonight, they would probably rather ORL beat PHI to ensure IND clinches top 6.

We've still got free tickets available for Monday's Fever draft party. Claim yours here and join us as history is made!

ticketmaster.com/event/05006074…

In the latest episode of The Sideline Guys powered by Gainbridge Sports, Pat Boylan & Jeremiah Johnson talk about a massive final weekend of the regular season and the playoff chase.

🎙️ Pacers.com/SidelineGuys

Far and away the most important thing tonight for the Pacers was to win. ✅

They don’t get much help around the NBA: PHI, MIA, and NYK all win.

ORL’s loss is intriguing, they finish the year with MIL (2x) and PHI.

Pacers have plenty of upward mobility (dot denotes tiebreak).

The Pacers have struggled with these type of games all season - and early on, trailing by 12 it looked like it could be headed that way again.

Instead, an emphatic response. Outscoring TOR 81-56 in the 2nd and 3rd...

The Pacers win 140-123

Their magic # for top 6 is down to 1.