The Pacers were in a free-fall, with no end in sight.
They had lost five consecutive games and eight of their previous nine. One of those losses had come by 35 points -- the second-worst in franchise history to that point. It was January, they were 14-21, and hope was dwindling.
"We've really hit a snag here in our season," the coach said, understating the situation.
The turnaround, oddly enough, began the next night in Memphis, where they were playing their third game in three nights. They trailed at halftime, 52-47, to a team that would finish the season with just 27 victories, but managed to pull out a 108-99 victory.