Indiana Pacers: 3 stars in NBA play-in win over Hornets

The Indiana Pacers were dealt a cruel blow just hours before their NBA play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets when Caris LeVert was ruled out for 10-14 days due to health and safety protocols.

Indiana was already on the knife’s edge going into an elimination game, and they had a litany of players with questionable injury statuses. Their backs were against a wall, and they were running out of ways to get out of their predicament.

The Indiana Pacers overcame adversity with a big win over the Charlotte Hornets in Game 1 of the NBA play-in tournament. Here’s who carried them to victory.

However, the Pacers ended up blasting the Hornets early on and maintained and extended their lead for the entire game en route to a surprise blowout win by a 144-117 final score. The Hornets go home with their season ended, and the Pacers will move on to face the Washington Wizards with a chance to win and move on to the NBA playoffs as the eighth seed.

Let’s take a look at the three stars that helped the Pacers get this crucial victory in a challenging season.

Third star for the Indiana Pacers: Oshae Brissett

Oshae Brissett finished the NBA season in style for the Pacers with a 31-point game against the Toronto Raptors, and he picked right up where he left off in the play-in game with a monster 23-point game to lead his team in scoring.

With LeVert out of the lineup, Brissett was called upon to provide some scoring punch in the biggest game of the season for the Pacers, and he delivered. Brissett did his damage on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and added five rebounds and two assists.

Oshae Brissett was also the beneficiary of some outstanding playmaking from our second star, who we’ll get to next.