THE Pacers have just validated their success in the face of Pistons in Detroit when Pascal Siakam, with less than 40 seconds remaining, took the rebound. The Cameroonian will keep the ball and dribble for the entire 24 seconds. Nothing exciting so far. Only, he will also talk a lot with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cade Cunningham. Tyrese Haliburton is also present.
End of possession. There are a few seconds left to play. This time, it's Jalen Duren who comes to bring his two cents in front of Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner. Isaiah Stewart then arrives, to point the finger at the Pacers pivot. The match is now over, but there is still discussion and the number of people on the floor is significant.
“There was no nastiness or crazy stuff like that”, comments Myles Turnerusing the English word “malice”, in reference (unintentionally?) to the huge brawl between the Pistons and the Pacers of November 2004, known as “Malice at the Palace”. “It was just competition-related discussions. There is a team that is coming up, that we will meet in the future. It was in the right spirit. That’s the beauty of this sport: you fight and you talk a little, you respond. »
Next meeting on January 29
Even the assistant coaches participated in this conference. Jarrett Jack, for Detroit, and Jannero Pargo, for Indiana, exchanged near the tunnel that led to the Pacers locker room.
And James Johnson, never the last to flex his muscles as an MMA fighter, calmed things down to keep the situation down to mere discussions.
The two teams, historic rivals in the Central division, have almost the same record (1.5 wins ahead for Indiana) so there is competition this season. “We’ll see them in two weeks”warns Jalen Duren, while the two teams will meet in Indiana on January 29.
JB Bickerstaff obviously did not like the attitude (and trashtalking?) of his opponents. “When we kicked the Pacers’ butts at home, it wasn’t the same thing”he remembers, in reference to the large victory of his troops on November 29. “If things are going to be this way, so be it. »
