The intensity system
"This league has become this" and the 64-win Cavaliers couldn't keep up
The Pacers didn’t need Game 5. They were on the road, down 19, and up 3-1 in the series. Perhaps even NBA players make little choices, here and there, about measuring effort. Tuesday night in Cleveland didn’t have to be it.
But the Pacers tore through the second half, picking up the Cavaliers full court, flying into the lane just in case a free throw missed, getting two chase-down blocks on one Cleveland fast break. As the Cavaliers tried to conserve energy, the Pacers did the opposite, and pumped as much as they possibly could into the game.
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