As Pacers fans filled into Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Tuesday's do-or-die Play-In Tournament game against Charlotte, most Pacers fans didn't know what to expect.
Indiana fans are accustomed to seeing their team give it their all, but the 2020-21 Pacers have been ravaged by injuries all season and suffered yet another blow earlier on Tuesday, when star guard Caris LeVert was ruled out for the Play-In game due to the NBA's health and safety protocols.
While it wasn't stunning that the undermanned Pacers still had enough firepower to handle the Hornets, the manner in which they did was the latest plot twist in a season that has gone off script for months.