INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers rode an emotional roller coaster Thursday night.
They stood and applauded in honor of the late Nancy Leonard, head of the organization. They treasured the newest addition to the fieldhouse rafters—the Eastern Conference championship banner. The fans naturally booed when the Oklahoma City players were introduced and roared at the sight of dapper two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton.
Yes, there was a little bit of everything on opening night for this NBA Finals rematch.
“I'm confident our fans will create a great atmosphere for this game,” coach Rick Carlisle predicted before kickoff. “There are a lot of unknowns going into this season without Tyrese, without TJ (McConnell) to start the season. But we have a group of eager, competitive guys that I think are looking forward to being in this game.”
The Thunder raised their title banner and received championship rings before Tuesday's 125-124 double-overtime home win over Houston.
This time they went to a competition that lived up to expectations, even if it was unusually bumpy as the injured Haliburton and McConnell watched from the front row.
Haliburton donned glasses, a pink button-down sweatshirt, a white dress shirt and a pink tie in his first regular-season game since he was sidelined for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. McConnell won't play until November with a hamstring injury, and the Pacers lost their other starting guard, Andrew Nembhard, to left shoulder soreness in the first half. Nembhard did not return.
But even without Haliburton in uniform, the night started off with a bang.
Instead of holding a pre-game ceremony with a banner unfurling, he was there as the fans entered the arena. And instead of holding the traditional moment of silence in honor of Leonard, who helped save the franchise in 1977, the sold-out crowd applauded as a video tribute played on the scoreboard before the national anthem. Leonard, 93, died last month.
Just the thought of what she meant to the franchise brought some emotional thoughts to Carlisle, who laughed as she recounted the story of how she and her husband, Hall of Fame coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard, once accused Indiana players and coaches of parasailing.
“If it weren't for her, the Pacers probably wouldn't be here,” Carlisle said. “And if the Pacers had left in 1977 when they had a telethon to keep the team, it was unlikely that the Colts would come, and so without her and, of course, Slick, it would have been the Pottersville of professional sports.”
In June, Gainbridge Fieldhouse was amazing in the first quarter of Game 7 when fans showed up to watch the Oklahoma City game on the big screen and then fell silent as they watched Haliburton collapse to the floor, unable to get up. The Pacers lost the game, failing to capture their first NBA crown.
Haliburton, who is not expected to play this season, was usually cheerful. In an interview with ESPN, he said that he recently started running and jumping.
The rest of the Pacers tried to show they were still capable of playing another game without him against a Thunder team whose expectations were much clearer.
“It's very, very difficult because they're a great team,” Carlisle said of the champions. “They have guys that aren't here today, but they're so deep and have so many interchangeable pieces that it doesn't really matter that they're missing a few guys. We have a lot of new guys, too.”
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