They had a built-in excuse for having dead legs, for having a letdown, for having the proverbial "one of those nights" and succumbing to the circus attraction that is the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pacers, after all, didn't reach their respective homes until about 3 a.m. following Monday's game in New Orleans, and some didn't go to bed until 4 a.m. Most of them hadn't bothered to unpack from their week-long road trip before heading back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for their fifth tipoff in seven days on Tuesday.
They had one of those nights all right.