Thomas Bryant steps up for Pacers in series-clinching win with 'the greatest minutes you can ask of a backup center'
As the Indiana Pacers were making its common second half run midway through the third quarter on Tuesday, it was added energy from an unlikely source that took pushed all the momentum to its side — thanks to Thomas Bryant.
Bryant, who averaged just 10.4 minutes a game in the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, checked into the game at the 7:04 mark as the Pacers were up one. After a few defensive rebounds, Bryant took his first shot of the game; a block by Cavs center Evan Mobley. Instead of that being the defining moment of his game five minutes, he went back to his original thought when he joined the team — ‘come in and contribute’.
“I told them (teammates) from the start — even now I still believe the same thing. I always just wanted to come in and contribute and not be detrimental to the team,’ Thomas Bryant said after the 114-105 win. “I’m happy that third quarter went my way and we were able to get this win against a very good Cavaliers team.”
The following defensive possession after Mobley’s blocked shot on Bryant, the former Indiana center got a deflection at the top of the key and took it all the way to the other end for a dunk. He didn’t stop there, however.
He would score six of the next eight points for the Pacers, followed by a three in the right corner to push the lead to 12.
In total, Thomas Bryant scored all nine of his points in the third quarter — in a seven minute span. He finished with nine points on 4-of-6 from the floor, three rebounds and one steal in 11 minutes.
Going into game five, Bryant had scored nine points all series.
“Thomas Bryant, in the second half, gave us some of the greatest minutes you can ask of a backup center,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He ran. He rebounded. The three in the right corner was enormous during a run where we were starting to get into their legs a little big. His enthusiasm — it just permeates our team.”
The Pacers entered the postseason as the 4-seed and went on to win in five games against the 5-seed Milwaukee Bucks and now the 1-seed Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs, who dropped all three home games to the Pacers this series alone, were 36-5 all season at home against other teams.
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Now the Pacers are just eight wins away from an NBA Championship and enter the Eastern Conference Finals against either the New York Knicks or Boston Celtics.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs throughout a basketball game, especially in a playoff game like this,” Bryant said. “I’m just happy I was able to make the read on the defensive end in order to help our team get the steal in order for us to get a bucket too.”
In 10 games this postseason, the Pacers have overcome a 19-point defect three times. It was a 20-point defect in game five against the Bucks, 20 points in game two against the Cavs and then Tuesday night’s close-out win which was a 19-point deficit.
“The winning team writes the script,” Carlisle said. “I have to give our guys credit, they earned this.”
“We’ve preached our depth a lot over the last couple of years,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton added. “And it’s paying off now”
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