After suffering two consecutive defeats at the hands of the Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers roster now seems to have found their footing. During the ongoing Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with 3:36 minutes remaining in the third quarter, the franchise currently leads its rival by a score of 86-74. With lead scorer Tyrese Haliburton out of the picture, the pressure to perform fell upon other offensive players, like 32-year-old point guard T. J. McConnell. Thankfully, the athlete did not disappoint.

In his 20 minutes on the court, McConnell has put up a score of 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. This score total is already higher than what he had secured to his name in the last 8 games. His prowess is on full display for onlookers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, as he made players like Jaylen Brown literally run around in circles in an attempt to block him.

Excluding the recent matchup, Tyrese Haliburton was out of the Pacers main line up for over 13 games. Fortunately, the franchise held its own, securing a 7-6 win record to their name. T. J. McConnell, who was present in 12 of those matchups, managed to contribute valuably in each of them.

During the 12 games, the point guard had put up an average score of 11 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. He went 5.1-9.2 with his field goals, 0.1-0.4 with his three-pointers, and 0.8-0.9 with his free throws. He scored in the double digits in 6 of the games and stayed on the court for at least 22.6 minutes per game.

As the third quarter came to a close, many people on social media are sharing their reactions to the player’s increase in scoring ability in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton.

Fans react as T.J. McConnell dominates during Game 3

An X user commented that there is “nothing more infuriating” than watching the 32-year-old player put up an effective offensive play against the Celtics. He highlighted his feeling that T. J. McConnell is someone who looks easy to stop. From the ongoing matchup, however, that does not seem to be the case.

Over the past few years, McConnell is someone who has created a reputation of never backing down. Former Rick Carlisle highlighted the same belief by stating that he is “one of the great competitors in the history of the franchise,” an “indomitable spirit” and a “once-in-a-decade type player”. Therefore, it is not often wise to count someone like McConnell out of a good fight.

A Celtics fan was amongst the first people to took to his official X account to react to the recent matchup. As other commentor stated that the game is nothing short of a ‘shitshow’, this individual proceeded to complain that getting defeated by the likes of players like Andrew Nembhard and T. J. McConnell is just downright “embarrassing”.

T. J. McConnell is someone who only averaged 11.9 points during the Pacers’ second round playoffs series against the Knicks. The same average was 9.5 when facing off against the Milwaukee Bucks. 24-year-old point guard Andrew Nembhard didn’t achieve too much greatness as well, keeping his scoring limited to an average of 12.3 against the Knicks. However, both players are shining during the current matchup, with Nembhard leading the scoring effort through his 23 points within 32 minutes.

Another individual stated that T. J. McConnell is someone who is not a star. As a neutral player, however, he is an important component to possess during crucial games. The commentor also stated that the player is not without his limits, as he can be a bit of an “annoying fly” when you don’t want him to be.

Through his comment, the individual highlighted that the point guard is someone who just keeps running around the court and seldom fails to have his presence known during a game. No known emphasized more on this point recently than Knicks star Josh Hart. Prior to his Eastern Conference Semifinals battle against the Pacers, Hart proceeded to state that “T. J. McConnell is an annoying little s**t that just runs around, causes chaos, picks up 94 feet, someone that plays the game of basketball extremely at a high level, competitive as hell”. When a player receives that kind of praise from a fellow rival, then you know that he must be doing something right.

Another X user went ahead and posted the same thing that was on the minds of several Indiana fans. He stated that McConnell’s efforts are downright saving the legacy of Tyrese Haliburton.

The 24-year-old Pacers point guard was declared out of Game 3 in light of his left hamstring injury. He developed the same during the 3 quarter of Game 2. Once the Injury took place, the player did not return to the court. The hamstring injury has been a nuisance for many players during the NBA tournament. Looking as how it benched players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and OG Anunoby for an indefinite period, Tyrese Haliburton may not return to the main lineup on time.

Overall, the reactions by fans were positive in nature towards T. J. McConnell. Despite the effort by the player, the Pacers could not hold on to their lead for long. One more loss and the hope for the Indiana Pacers to reach the NBA Finals will be gone. With Tyrese Haliburton’s status unknown, the hope to do well ultimately falls on T. J. McConnell and the rest of the healthy members of the team. Currently, the Celtics managed to take away their third win in the Easter Conference Finals with a score of 114-111.