Pacers Beat Rockets, Clinch 1st-Round Playoff Matchup with Heat

The Indiana Pacers already knew they were going to the playoffs for the fifth straight season, but now they know who they will face in the first round.

They clinched a first-round showdown with the Miami Heat as either the No. 4 or 5 seed with Wednesday's 108-104 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Indiana quietly goes about its business in the Eastern Conference, but the results under head coach Nate McMillan have been tremendously successful. 

Rob Mahoney of The Ringer wrote about the Pacers in January, highlighting their consistently high level of play over the past three decades:

"Working in the NBA means making peace with transition; Indiana is the rare franchise to find stability between empowered superstars and veterans serving out mercenary contracts. Players come, players go, and the Pacers win. During the past 30 years, only the Spurs have made more playoff appearances. Since 2010, Indiana has missed the postseason just once—on a tiebreaker for the eighth seed, in a season that Paul George missed almost entirely with a broken leg. When George later requested a trade, the team retooled and won. When Oladipo, the centerpiece of that trade, went down with his own season-ending injury, the Pacers regrouped and won."

This season might be McMillan's crowning achievement since being hired by the Pacers in July 2013. He had to integrate several new additions to the rotation, including free-agent signing Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren. 

The Pacers didn't have Victor Oladipo available for the first 47 games as he was recovering from the ruptured quad tendon he suffered in January 2019. He did struggle upon returning, averaging 13.8 points per game and shooting 39.1 percent from the field in 13 games before the season was suspended. 

Since the restart, Oladipo has looked more like his old self, which is needed with All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who was averaging a career-high 18.5 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, unavailable due to a foot injury suffered July 24. 

Adding Brogdon in a sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks last July helped offset the loss of Oladipo's production. The former Rookie of the Year is on pace to set personal bests with 16.5 points and 7.1 assists per game while running point on offense. 

Warren was electrifying out of the gate when the season resumed, averaging 39.7 points in his first three games. The 26-year-old has come back to earth some, but he still gives the Pacers another scoring threat on the wing.

The Pacers often operate in the shadows compared to other marquee teams in the Eastern Conference. General manager Kevin Pritchard always seems to have a clear plan, and the coaching staff does a terrific job identifying players' strengths and playing them up in games. 

It's a testament to Indiana's entire organization that the franchise maintains a high level of play without any long period of rebuilding. The next step for the Pacers will be the playoffs, where they will attempt to advance past the first round for the first time since the 2013-14 season.