Indiana Pacers<\/a> up by two over the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was time for McConnell to work. He clocked in with his hands.<\/p>\nThursday\u2019s Game 6 of the NBA Finals would require a certain energy. With the hosts facing elimination, desperation was in order. Urgency in every movement. All gas and no breaks for the opponent. This moment was made for McConnell.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had to fight and claw and scrap for everything he\u2019s gotten in this league,\u201d said Myles Turner, who has played five seasons with McConnell. \u201cFor someone who was undrafted, for someone who was constantly (over)looked. \u2026 I know how bad he wants this.\u201d<\/p>\n
McConnell finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in 24 minutes of Indiana\u2019s 108-91 Game 6 romp of OKC. But the numbers don\u2019t do him justice. They don\u2019t convey his energy. They don\u2019t illustrate his influence on the tempo, the aggressiveness, the possibility of his team.<\/p>\n
He is the only player in NBA Finals history to surpass 60 points, 25 assists, 15 rebounds and 10 steals off the bench.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s uncanny how he gets where he wants on the court, squeezing between crevices on his drives, weaving in and out of the lane, the defense chasing him like the ghosts chase Pac-Man. It\u2019s befuddling how that pull-up jump shot of his, his form looking like he\u2019s putting something in a box on the shelf, can feel so automatic even though he\u2019s fading away and shooting over much bigger players. How he emerges from the trees with rebounds and seems to always have a jump on loose balls.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s every bit a phenomenon. A backup guard leading with intangibles.<\/p>\n
Indeed, McConnell invites every clich\u00e9 possible. He for sure fits the mold of the overachieving, unathletic white player. He is but 6-foot-1, 190 pounds. He is heady. He is humble. He does play the right way. For the love of Hoosiers.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t patronize McConnell by limiting him to such tropes. He\u2019s worthy of any game, any style, any era. The guy can play. Full stop. He\u2019s a true hooper. A gamer in every sense. He\u2019s respected in every corner of the sport. Because hustle doesn\u2019t have a demographic. Unwavering confidence is a universal basketball language. And the desire to win, a hunger so strong it\u2019s palpable, garners respect everywhere.<\/p>\n
He is undersized, yet his impact is huge. He isn\u2019t explosive by any means, but he\u2019s gone off when the Pacers needed it most. He doesn\u2019t have \u201ca bag,\u201d as the modern hoop litmus test prefers, but he\u2019s still carried Indiana at critical junctures.<\/p>\n
The Pacers are, almost magically, a win from the franchise\u2019s first championship since its ABA days. It doesn\u2019t happen without McConnell, whose game seems to elevate with the stakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise what T.J. does out there,\u201d Obi Toppin, one of McConnell\u2019s running mates off the bench, said after scoring 20 points. McConnell assisted on all four of Toppin\u2019s 3s. \u201cAny time he comes into the game, the crowd loves him, and he feeds off of that. He had a great start to the game, and it got us going. Brought juice into the game, energy into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyrese Haliburton, the face of the franchise, the Pacers\u2019 star point guard, valiantly battled through a strained calf, risking further injury to offer a fraction of himself as a sacrifice. He grinded on defense. He made some shots. He dropped some dimes. Indiana couldn\u2019t afford to get nothing from its star again, not with its season on the brink, and he delivered.<\/p>\n
But the Pacers didn\u2019t need the full measure of Haliburton because of whom he calls their \u201cGreat White Hope.\u201d In Game 5, when Haliburton strained his calf and was rendered ineffective, McConnell provided the spark. He scored 18 points in 21 minutes. The Pacers might\u2019ve cost themselves Game 5 by sitting McConnell too long.<\/p>\n
But they are still alive, their title hopes boosted by their convincing Game 6 win as they head to a Game 7 in Oklahoma City on Sunday. And McConnell\u2019s fingerprints were all over the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d McConnell explained, \u201cwe were going home if we didn\u2019t come out and give everything we have and leave it all out on the floor. We have another opportunity to do that on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not even a minute into his first stint, he intercepted an outlet pass and found Toppin for a 3-pointer.<\/p>\n
On a loose ball in the second quarter, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein dove to the floor to secure it. Pacers big man Tony Bradley was right next to Hartenstein and didn\u2019t hit the floor. But McConnell hustled over and lunged for the ball, on the hardwood, snatching it before Hartenstein could and starting the transition.<\/p>\n
Indiana led 28-25 to start the second quarter. McConnell went to work. A driving layup. Then his patented fade-away in the lane. Another bucket in the lane moments later. The Thunder just didn\u2019t know what to do with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo play to the last day possible of the season, Game 7,\u201d McConnell said, \u201cyou dream about that as a kid. So I know we have to be ready for the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 7s can be ugly. Battles of attrition after a long, grueling season. A test of stamina. A measurement of heart. But that\u2019s even more in the realm of McConnell. The gear required for this expected setting is the only gear he knows.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already beloved in basketball-crazed Indiana. He\u2019s become a popular figure among basketball enthusiasts. He\u2019s highly regarded among his peers. But if Indiana wins, and McConnell once again imposes himself onto the game with the strength of his will, he\u2019ll become an iconic underdog. The king of overachievers. And the swelling warmth in his father\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to OKC for my son,\u201d McConnell\u2019s father, Tim, said on the ESPN set. \u201cTo play in the championship game. To win the world championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo of T.J. McConnell and Aaron Wiggins: Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 When T.J. McConnell checked in for the first time, as the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd bellowed upon…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1267,1260,1268,1269,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-indiana-pacers","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","11":"tag-opinion","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}