The Indiana Pacers have done little to inspire fans or neutrals in their light jog through the 2014 NBA postseason. They have looked solid, at various points, but the title contender that seemed to come together over the first few months of the regular season has been missing in action. For the first half of Thursday's Game 5, the Pacers looked ready to finish off their season, losing the second quarter 26-11 to head into the locker room down 42-33.
Indiana finally showed some signs of life in the third quarter. Down 50-41 with 6:00 on the clock, the Pacers finished off the quarter on a 23-7 run to give themselves hope of extending their season. The capper was this quarter-ending buzzer-beater from Paul George:

Of course, the actual form of the play indicates why this Pacers run looked more like an isolated stretch of solid play rather than an honest resurgence. George pretty blatantly pushed off on Mario Chalmers, who went to the ground, yet was not called for any sort of foul. And the Pacers arguably only had a chance to come back in this game because Heat uber-star LeBron James was limited to only 13 minutes in the opening three quarters after getting called for five fouls, a few of which looked to involve marginal contact, could easily have been called the other way, or not been whistled at all.
In other words, even the triumphant moments for the Pacers have been less than enthusiastic. It's an experience in keeping with the rest of their 2014 playoffs. Expect it to continue, should they live to see another day.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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