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Tom Brokaw
This is an iHeart podcast.
Shannon Sharpe
When it's tip off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check my favorite jersey. It is good luck. Check an iconic drink that's a fan favorite.
Tom Brokaw
Check.
Shannon Sharpe
Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard of my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails, it also finishes smooth. So grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume. Hypnotic reminds you to think wisely. Drink wisely.
Lester Holt
The NBC Nightly News legacy isn't handed down or NBC News.
Tom Brokaw
I'm Tom Brokaw.
Colin Cowherd
We hope to see you back here.
Lester Holt
I'm Lester Holt. It's carried forward. Tom Yamas is there for us.
Tom Brokaw
Firefighters are still working around the clock. As the world changes, we look for what endures. We are coming on the air with breaking news. Right now, we look for a constant. And from one era to the next, Trust is the anchor.
Shannon Sharpe
For NBC Nightly News.
Tom Brokaw
I'm Tom Yamas. A new chapter begins. NBC Nightly News with Tom Yamas evenings on NBC.
Joe Johnson
Okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. The fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back. And Degree listened and that doesn't happen often. They admitted they effed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason why it's the number one man's antiperspirant. And it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. So try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart Target and try the OG Cool Rush for yourself.
Colin Cowherd
Hi, it's Colin from the Colin Coward podcast. I've been around long enough to know quality when I see it. Or in this case, when I taste it. Tito's handmade vodka. Good stuff. No flash, no gimmicks. Smooth, clean tasting. Made the right way. Tito's made in Austin, Texas. Real attention to detail. I like to keep it simple. Tito's soda, one lime, lot of ice. Refreshing, easy. Summer, winter, spring. Totally versatile. Always works. Listen, baseball season's here. The perfect Time to kick back with some Tito's. It's what I pour. You should too. Distilled and bottled by 5th Generation Inc. Austin, Texas. 40% alcohol by volume. Savor responsibly.
Tom Brokaw
The volum.
Chad Ochocinco
Wow.
Lester Holt
Wow. Wow. The Cardiac Pacers did it again. Trail the entire game. Trail by as many as 15 points. But when it mattered the most, Tyrese Halliburton did it again. Go Halle. Go Halley. And Halle did he go. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. As you watch the Indiana Pacers and go on the road and what they normally do is take game one. And they did it again. 111 to 110. I said it. They were down by as many as 15. But they do not give up. And I don't think they played really well except the fourth quarter. 12 gave up 12 steals in the first half. 19 turnovers in the first half. But they found a way to hang around and they won the ball game. I am your favorite unc, Shannon Sharp, my partner and co host, Liberty City Zone Bingo Ring of fame artery Pro Bowler All Pro, Chad Ochocinko Johnson. And our special contributor who's been joining us throughout the NBA playoffs, the Arkansas Little Rock native, University of Arkansas alum ISO Joe Joe Johnson. And we have a special contributor tonight to talk about Game 1 of the NBA finals. And that is Cedric Cornbread Maxwell. Guys, let's get. Look here. You know what? Damn. And I'm so excited about this game, but I gotta oo. I gotta go through. Gotta go through the run now.
Tom Brokaw
Yeah.
Lester Holt
Please make sure you hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit the like button. And guys, go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed wherever you get your podcast from. We'd like to thank you, Ocho and myself and the entire team at Nightcap for your support and your continued support. Because when we started this thing two years ago, we had no idea we would rise this fast. And it was all because of you. It's because of your ears, your eyes and your word of the mouth. So we greatly, greatly appreciate that from the bottom of our heart and hopefully you'll continue to support us. Make sure you check out Shade by laportier. We have it in stock now. If you can't find it in a city or state near you, best believe we're coming soon to a city or state near you. Order it online and we'll ship it directly to your door. The best tasting VSOP cognac on the market. Don't take my Word for it. Try it for yourself. You will not be disappointed. Please drink responsibly and stay safe. Make sure you follow my media company page. Shay Shay Media. The link is in the chat. And my clothing company. The link is also pinned in the chat, but 84 is spelled out. Supplies are limited and once they're gone, they're gone. So please grab yours while supplies last. Guys, let's get right into this. Right into this game. I thought, I thought, I really did. I thought OKC had this thing in the bag because Indiana cut it and then they extended by more than what the lead was before they dug into it. It was nine. And the next thing you know, they cut it down to six. And now you're back up to 11. And they cut it down again and next thing you know it's back up to 13. They cut it down again and get it back up to 15. I said, that's too much to overcome. Nothing is too much for these places to overcome. They believe. I don't know what the outside world word is thinking. World is thinking, but they have a never give up attitude. They do a great job. I've heard Rick Carlisle onto the next play. When guys would turn the ball over, they would make a mistake. Cornbread, he like, on to the next play. We good. On to the next one. On to the next one. On to the next one. Kept them with a positive attitude and they go in there and they steal game one. Still home court advantage in game one. Joe, you watch this game and like I said, I didn't feel like they played really well except the last quarter. They had again on show. We talked about it. Six guys in double figures. A lot of teams, 19, 14, 14, 16, almost had seven guys in double figures, but they played six guys in double figures. Joe Howe was Indiana in this hostile of an environment, able to fall down by as many as 15 points. Find a way to win this ball game.
Chad Ochocinco
Man, they, they've done that all, all postseason. Guys, they, they've been relentless. They've been gritty and they've been tough even when they're down. You know, when the game started off and I knew and I seen that Hungrich was starting at the five and Hardenstein wasn't starting. I was wondering, I was like, okay, maybe they don't want Hungridge playing against Pac Pascal Siakam. That's a bad matchup for hungry. And you could tell he kind of hungry kind of struggled all night because fast pace that the Pacers play with, but the guard play was elite. I thought Those dudes, they battled, they competed, and it was fun to watch, man. But I'm gonna be honest with y' all, I, I, I didn't see this. I didn't see this. I thought, OKC gonna take care of business. They had to leave pretty much the whole time. Cornbread, what happened, baby?
Tom Brokaw
Joe, you know that's what happened. When you got the big balls at the end, you think about. And you know what? And Shannon, here's the thing was Crazy Joe came out earlier. I thought he had played in the damn game. The look on.
Chad Ochocinco
You did not play.
Tom Brokaw
Joe, I understand the parlays and all that, but that you have, you have a team that is relentless. You have Rick Carlisle believes in the team. You have these guys believe in each other. And everybody says, Nate Smith, all these other guys will come in and make plays over and over again. Okc, to me, this is what I said before this series, and I still feel that Indiana is going to win this series because I think championship experience. And I believe, here's what I really believe. I believe that OKC hasn't been there before. So at the end of that game, a lot of those guys were knocking down shots. So they won't ice up no more. They weren't playing that way no more.
Cedric Maxwell
At the end of the game, they got tight.
Tom Brokaw
And Ocho, you've seen it before. You've seen it before. Shannon, when guys get tight and the nuts get tight, you don't know what to do.
Lester Holt
If somebody would have told me, ocho, I'm going to turn it over to you. If somebody would have told me that Indiana's going to turn the ball over 25 times.
Tom Brokaw
25.
Lester Holt
The other team, OKC, is only going to turn it over seven times and they was going to win the game. I would have never believed that. I don't know. The last time I've seen a team turn the ball over this, they had 19 turnovers in the first half. I'm like, bro, if y' all just. And I was gonna, I was looking forward to come on and say, you know what? I think they got a chance to win. If they say if they can get 10, I mean 12 or fewer turnover, so you cut your turnover in half, that gives you more opportunities to at least get the ball a shot up. Ocho watching this ball game and Shay was doing his thing, like I said. He said, the hell with efficiency from the very first playoff game because he got 36 points, but it took him 30 shots to get it. Yeah, he's going to be Ultra aggressive. What is it about what you saw from okc? Because I'm sure you was thinking like, damn, okc.
Cedric Maxwell
Listen, I'm gonna be honest with you. Watching the game, Joe and Corn, I thought. I thought the game was over. I thought the game was over because consistency, consistently, OKC kept scoring. Listen, they build a lead. They go to 15, goddamn Indiana come back. Then they go on another stretch, they go on another run, they get another lead. I say, well, God damn, the Pacers keep turning the goddamn ball over. So at any point when they actually do have a chance to get back in the game, boom. The goddamn Thunder going to run. So I'm thinking the game is over. So I'm sitting back, I'm relaxing. They get to the fourth quarter, okay, okay, both ends of the court, both teams are doing well. And all of a sudden the goddamn Thunder started missing shots. And then the goddamn Pacer started in shots.
Tom Brokaw
Where was Chad Lundgren? What was Chad Hunger in this game? At the end? What was Chad at? Chad is supposed to be that dude. You know that's going to be. He's the second fiddle guy. He was invisible in this game. And you have to have those tier guys step up. You said it before, Shannon, you had seven guys, almost seven guys on that Pacer team who scored the basketball.
Lester Holt
Yep.
Tom Brokaw
You had some guys over there on that other side that did just kind of disappear. They caspered on them at the end. They disappeared. And you can't do that in big games.
Lester Holt
What's surprising to me, guys, and Joe, let me know what you think about this. Why would you change your starting lineup? You've been starting Isaiah Hardenstein the whole season, the entire playoffs. I'm going to dictate, I'm going to dictate to you. I am not going to let you bring your ass in my house and dictate what I'm gonna serve for dinner. You gonna eat what the hell I put on the table or you gonna go hungry or take your ass home?
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, look, I agree, I agree. My thing is it ain't the fact that. Okay, yeah, I was worried when they changed the lineup, but down the stretch, man, you got everybody out there, six, seven and under. We playing backyard basketball. Ain't nobody really got no advantage that's actually plays in Indiana hands when you play, correct?
Tom Brokaw
Yeah.
Chad Ochocinco
Cause you only getting one shot. You ain't got no offensive rebounding ability and. And they killing you in the inside. So I thought OB Toppin played great. He kept him in the game after he slowed down and stopped turning the ball over. Long as he catch and shoot, Crash the glass man, he is perfect for this game right here. This was perfect for him. And I thought he shined.
Tom Brokaw
Hey, give Rick Carlisle huge points. Give Rick Carlisle huge points. Listen, you did not let those guys give up. And that is what. That's what championship mellow is. He's. He's the only guy out there from championship experience as a coach, right? Other. Other gentlemen over there, not championship experience. And I think it showed a little bit in this game.
Cedric Maxwell
And the funny thing about it is, if we talk about giving a coach credit, right, the coach can do all the coaching he want, but it comes to the players to be able to execute and not even give up. All the way to the last few seconds of the goddamn game. Cornbread, them boys were losing. They was down and refuse to give up. And goddamn Halliburton, who they claim is Mr. Overrated. He's supposed to be so bad, man.
Tom Brokaw
I tell you what I love about Joe. This is what I loved about it at the end of that game, and you and I played in it. You guys have played it in football at the end of that game in that stadium. You could have heard the damn mouse piss on cotton in there. And that to me, that is a thrilling.
Lester Holt
Not a cotton ball, a bale of.
Cedric Maxwell
It, a bail of it.
Lester Holt
Yeah, hold on, hold on.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, hold on, Uncle. I got one question for you. I got one question for you and Joe. Cornbread. I already know where you going with it. Now, I asked you before the series started, Unc and Joe, both of you picked the Thunder to win the series. I just want to know, after tonight's game, as bad as the Pacers played, are you still sure you want to stick with the Thunder to win this series?
Lester Holt
I want to go seven games. I didn't. I didn't want to. I don't want it to go five or less because then we. What hell we gonna talk about? So I need to go all the way. I need to go all the way to damn near July. Okay.
Chad Ochocinco
Okay. It's one game, baby. That's why it's a series. You hear me?
Cedric Maxwell
Give me a minute. I just want to make sure. I want to make sure we on point. Now, you picked the Thunder.
Tom Brokaw
I pick. I picked.
Cedric Maxwell
I picked the paces, right? So you have to understand each. Each game. Each game that's played is $100 bat.
Lester Holt
No, we.
Chad Ochocinco
We got to talk about that. For the game. You can't come. You can't come in. You can't come in here like that man, you got to establish that for the game start. We made a friendly bet, all right?
Cedric Maxwell
That's what established that in the last series.
Chad Ochocinco
I tried to run that on you against the Knicks.
Lester Holt
You wouldn't.
Chad Ochocinco
You weren't going. Remember I said that to you?
Cedric Maxwell
No, what. What are we talking about? We talked about this before the series started.
Chad Ochocinco
Nah, not in the game. But not a hundred dollars a game.
Cedric Maxwell
Oh, I'm saying It's a five game series. Listen, five game series. Six, seven game series. Each game is 100. DOL know who team win.
Chad Ochocinco
Boy, you slick, boy.
Cedric Maxwell
Okay, I'm let you finish.
Lester Holt
But I didn't realize it. They got beat. OkC normally beat people up on the glass. Indiana beat them by plus 17.
Shannon Sharpe
Thank you.
Lester Holt
They playing that Little Joe. That ain't my problem. You decided to switch your lineup up. So what you want me to do?
Chad Ochocinco
Listen, that's why I was thinking when the game started, I'm like, man, what harm style that? But I know what they were thinking. They did not go hungry after guarding Pascal Siakam. That would have been a tough matchup for him. He wouldn't have been able to guard him on the perimeter. But I would have went down the stretch. I would have had some size in there down the stretch or something, man. Come on now.
Lester Holt
But here's the problem that you run into is that when you go small like that, now you get cleaned up on the glass, and now you're letting them cornbread, you know, you letting them get second chance opportunities. Now you're giving somebody a second crack at you. It's Ocho. And I feel Ocho is like third down. All you hope to do is get the third down, but hell, if you let him capitalize and can't get off the field, what have you done? You forced a missed shot, but if you can't get the rebound, you've done nothing. Now you got to play an extra possession, and sooner or later that catches up with you. I was really surprised, and that's what Golden State was really good at. Golden State was good at forcing other teams to play that small ball. You remember when they had Aunt Iguodala and they were playing basically draymond at the 5? And everybody feel like you, yeah, we gotta play like that. But y' all don't play like that. They do. Yeah, okc, you play two bigs. You're one of the few teams that currently in the NBA that still play two bigs. So why wouldn't this in the most important games of this young team Assembled life. Why would you go small when your advantage is to have two bigs?
Tom Brokaw
Hold on. Sometimes you overthink it. That's what happens. You overthink the process. You got there with this one girl, then all of a sudden you change. We're in the wrong place right now. We need to be outside in. In front of OKC right now with that alcohol, you guys, we make so much damn funny because there gonna be some people pissed off and they want to get drunk.
Lester Holt
Yeah.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, Bread.
Tom Brokaw
Hey, Bread.
Cedric Maxwell
Joe and us. I got a question. Listen, y' all, y' all, y' all are basket basketball. Basketball Savions, you know, in general. So let's say they change their lineup, right? You say you. They always went with the two bigs. What happened when you play against a team like the Indiana Pacers that run up and down the court in transition, you think they understand that those two bigs might be a liability offensively and defensively regardless. Regardless of the boards in general.
Lester Holt
Let me ask you a question. I put it to you in football terms. Y' all played the Cincinnati Bengals. Play three Widespread, y' all. And your team, the team that good, really good. Are you gonna chase that? You know what? They got really good. So instead of playing three wides, we gonna go two Tyson two and two wides. No, I'm gonna do what I did to get me there. So now if you're gonna play that small ass lineup, I'm gonna punish your ass inside. I'm gonna punish you on the glass like they. Because, see, they're used to playing Siakam and Miles Turner. Yeah, you're not used to playing Wallace. Wallace doesn't start Hardenstein. The two bigs, like I said, they're one of the few teams that still play old like you guys used to play. Y' all had a true big and a true 4. It wasn't no stretch, nothing. You stretched before you went to the game. That was the only stretch. That was the only stretch that was going on Cornbread. And so I'm surprised that OKC did this. And one of the. This is the most important. This Nucleus and Dognuts. This is the most important series of their career. And he switched it up. And I just don't know why.
Tom Brokaw
Well, I think that sometimes again, you overthink the process.
Lester Holt
You do.
Tom Brokaw
And for me, I remember playing the Lakers, instead of getting smaller, we got bigger. We had seven footers all around 16. Mikhail Parish, Bird, myself. We got bigger. So you want to attack a team like that on the glass, that was OKCs. Weakness. Everybody in the beginning of this series talked about one person I heard defensively, Ludor. What was he going to do defensively? Ladora is probably about six, four. You got those guys up there, six, eight, six, nine. And he played a great game. But there were guys who disappeared. I stayed like you. I'm like you about dinner. If you come to my damn house, don't be telling me you, you know, you, you don't. You don't eat this and you ain't. You don't eat that.
Lester Holt
Okay? I'm.
Tom Brokaw
I'm like you, you know, I hope.
Lester Holt
You ate before you brought your black ass there because you go get what I serve.
Tom Brokaw
You're. You're, you're, you're vegan. Is that what you are? You vegan? Well, guess what? We have a damn poke chops and we hear.
Lester Holt
Exactly. And you know, you know, I don't eat no poke.
Tom Brokaw
You know what we do? We cooking it with damn Crisco.
Lester Holt
That's what I'm saying.
Tom Brokaw
So forget about all that other stuff you talking about.
Lester Holt
Hey, listen, I mean, you look, bro, they have. Pascal Siakam had 19 points, 10 rebounds. Aaron Neesmith 10 points, 12 rebounds. Tyrese Halliburton 14 points, 10 rebounds. Miles Turner, 15 points, nine rebounds. You had four guys with damn near double figure rebounds.
Tom Brokaw
What did Chad do when Chad give you the night?
Lester Holt
Six and six.
Chad Ochocinco
He's two for nine.
Lester Holt
Two for nine. He gave you 6.6 rebounds. Isaiah Hardenstein gave you nine points, nine rebounds. And so you didn't have what they had almost four guys in double figures. You had no guys in double figures. Yeah, and you had a guard that had as many rebounds as your biggest rebounder. So you played into their hands. Look, if I'm gonna get beat, I've got to get. Now. I can make an adjustment, Brad. I can always. You know this. We can always make adjustment, but I'm coming out with what has got me there. And then I'll see how the game is playing out and then I'll make an adjustment accordingly.
Chad Ochocinco
I agree, man, I hope they do.
Tom Brokaw
I'm like you, Joe. It surprised the hell out of me the fact that they changed what had gotten them there. Martin Stein, what we know he is, he's aggressive on the operatives of glass. He's aggressive defense. And your tendency defensively, your strength has always been those two guys running the floor. Those two white cowards being in there, being able to cut things off. You took one of the towers away and Indiana feasted on the glass and that's how, mind you, they stayed in this basketball game.
Lester Holt
And another thing, guys. Joe, I'm going to let you go. Joe, another thing, that defense we talked about, they allowed Indiana to shoot 48% from the floor and 46% from the three. And we talked about their defense, we talked about Lou Dort, we talked about Wallace, we talked about Caruso, we talked about Isaiah. Joe, we talked about all these guys. Where was that defense? Because it doesn't mean anything. Your defense, your offense is only a good. What can I get done when I absolutely got to have it done? Brad, if I got a guy and we lead our offense, we lead the league in scoring and I got a guy that leads the league in scoring, what good is that? If I. And down the clutch, I can't. Crunch time, I can't get. I can't get a bucket right. So all this defense that they and they are, they're. They're the number one defensive team. They led in steals, they led in deflections, they led in field goal percentage. They are a very good team. But you needed that tonight. And you allow the team to shoot 48% from the floor and 46% from the three. That'll get you beat on most nights. But I'm surprised that the Pacers were able to stay around with 25 turnovers.
Shannon Sharpe
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Hmm. Let me check this pocket.
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Oh, mints.
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Lester Holt
All right.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, guys, I think, you know, when they got down what they were down like 15. They started playing that desperation basketball. You know, they started playing desperation basketball to where they start making threes. And you know, like when you down like that, you start to play a little loose because you're trying to get back in the game. And once they cut it to about six, I was like, all right now, all right now. Hey, look, I was sitting here comfortable too. I'm ready to get on nightcause I.
Tom Brokaw
Was a little tired.
Chad Ochocinco
I say, man, no, I done tow the house up over here buying that.
Tom Brokaw
But I have never seen Joe Johnson, who is one of the coolest dudes around, come on before this game and look like it looked like trash. Joe, what the hell is going on, dude? I'm like, Joe looked like he was frustrated. Like Joey just ran off the damn court. I was like, joe, you all right?
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, listen, Joe got some relatives.
Lester Holt
He got some relatives that play with okc, man.
Chad Ochocinco
Listen, I got some racing backs over there, man. Hey, listen, hey, look, when you watch the game, like, it's hard for me to just sit here and just really enjoy because I'd be so immersed into the game and I'm like, OKC got control of this and then Indiana just relentless, man. Relentless. Look, Nate Smith. Not Nate Smith. Nimhard down the stretch. He was a go to guy.
Lester Holt
Yeah, yeah, he was a go to guy.
Chad Ochocinco
He the one that was making play.
Lester Holt
Hey, you know what I thought? You know what? I thought OKC had it. Cause niece Smith throw the ball and he goes and he goes up and he didn't go up as strong as he Needed to be. And then all of a sudden, what could. You could have taken the lead. Now all of a sudden, they cut back down the court and Shay gets a layup. And I'm like, bro, dang. I said, man, you digest? I said, they done lost the game.
Tom Brokaw
Now, Ojo, I can tell you what happened. I'm gonna tell you why Joe is feeling this way. Some damn dead presidents he's losing right now. Lincolns and Grants and whatever he's spending right now. Those things walking away. That's why he's frustrated right now.
Cedric Maxwell
Long as long as I get my end. He owe me a hundred dollars.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, listen, Homer's got. He got to give us something. Guys, listen.
Tom Brokaw
Absolutely.
Chad Ochocinco
I think they got to go back. They got to go back with the big lineup because you didn't try this small ball. And it ain't. It don't. It don't fit you. It fits Indiana. It's in Indiana's favor. So. Because down the stretch, when you look, they can't get no second chance. Opportunities do miss. You know, if you have Hardenstein the hungers in there. When Shay do miss a middle, maybe they'll tip it out. You get another opportunity. But you getting one shot. And now you got to get back on defense. So I didn't like it, man. I ain't like the startup. I ain't like the change of the lineup, man. You the number one team in the NBA. Cornbread Ocho, why are you switching things up? Make them people adjust to you.
Lester Holt
Hold on. Exactly.
Cedric Maxwell
I'm gonna ask you again, though, Joe. Listen, you just say they do go big. I mean, as. As a coach, you got to make adjustments and understanding that, listen, before the game.
Tom Brokaw
Hey.
Lester Holt
Wait.
Cedric Maxwell
Because you already know their liability on defense if you don't get that goddamn rebound. They down the court running the four by one with an easy point.
Lester Holt
You know what I think? You know what? Now playing it back in my head, I think OKC looked at the series before Cleveland. What did Cleveland do? Play two bigs. Cleveland got ran off the court. See, so he. He looked. I believe he looked. I believe Eddie looked at it like that. And also the Knicks. The Knicks had success. They had success with what? When they brought Mitchell Robinson and Cat in. Because Mitchell Robinson can protect also now you got Cat can do what he wanted because Katt is not a defender. And he really doesn't want to play the five. He wants to play the fourth. You let Mitchell Robinson. So I think that played a role in it. I think OKC looked at those two and they say, man, they ran. And remember, Cleveland is a good defensive team. Yeah, they got ran off the court. They got beat 4, 1. You saw what they did to the Knicks. They didn't have home court. They ran them off the court. So OKC said, you know what? Let me switch it up. I ain't switching up nothing. You're gonna have to. You're gonna beat me, but you're gonna beat me at my best right now. You know, I get it. Game two. Okay. I might have to make some adjustments, but I'm not. I'm not making no, I'm not making. No. I'm not making no adjustments before I have to make adjustments.
Chad Ochocinco
That's what I'm saying. Come on now.
Lester Holt
Hey, Brad, I like. You know what? Hey, my car cranking just fine and everything's rolling good. Hey, man, change my transmission. I want you to change the battery too.
Tom Brokaw
For no reason.
Lester Holt
Can the check engine light come on? Can it cannot crank before I start.
Tom Brokaw
In this next game right here, okc, there's gonna be some gonna be tight in there, man. A game like that and you. And you got. This is a. I'm sorry, but this is a must win game for them.
Lester Holt
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Tom Brokaw
It's a must win game. And Joe, Joe, they'll. They'll come back. Joe.
Chad Ochocinco
Come on now.
Lester Holt
Had the right parlay tonight. Joe picked the wrong parlay.
Tom Brokaw
You got the right one.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, hey, hey, Unc. Hey, Unc. Bread and Joe, right? Listen.
Lester Holt
Yeah.
Cedric Maxwell
If the coach made a decision to go small right, against the Pacers in the first game, is he going to change it back in the second game? Is he going to really sit there and take that sword and fall on that sword and say, you know what? I made the wrong decision. What I chose to do then was.
Tom Brokaw
If you're a smart coach, you make. Do you see that adjustment that you have to make? That's why I said in the beginning of this series, it favored the Pacers because they had a coach who had championship experience. He had also been there with Larry Bird in Indiana when they played and were playing for a championship. He's won one before. He's won one in Boston. So his experience, I think, showed in that game. And he was definitely what you said the whole time. I think, Shannon, he was great at saying, go on to the next play. Go on to the next one. And that's what happens. You, if you believed in your coach and now when you have players over there second guessing what the coach is saying, that's going to be one thing because you can see the look on everybody's face. I don't know why we're not there right now, man. We could be selling shots like a mug up in there. We'd be. Oh, Joe, we'd be making so much damn money. You know, Mike, that's.
Lester Holt
That's how I go next year. Next year, we gonna take the show on the road. We go, hey, we gonna. We gonna talk. We gonna talk to Adam Silver, say, Adam a. All right. We. We want. We ought to go. We want to go on the road. We want to be a. We ain't gotta.
Chad Ochocinco
We.
Lester Holt
We'll be in the hallway. We'll be in the atrium. We ain't gotta get. We a. Get li.
Tom Brokaw
License. Make sure you got your liquor. L. That's all. Get your liquor license. Sh. That's all I'm saying.
Chad Ochocinco
Listen, hey, y' all take this show on the road. Now, y' all gonna have to cut me in or cut it out. All right?
Lester Holt
Yeah.
Chad Ochocinco
Y' all have to cut me in or cut it out. I'm telling you right now. Cut me in or cut it out.
Lester Holt
If you.
Chad Ochocinco
Man, I'm disappointed, man.
Tom Brokaw
Don't worry about it.
Lester Holt
But that's.
Tom Brokaw
Ocho.
Lester Holt
Ocho, I give you a prime example. The Super Bowl.
Cedric Maxwell
Talk to me.
Lester Holt
What did the Eagles defense do all year? They played cover two. The entire season. They played. They played two. I think they played one or two snaps. A single high safety in the super bowl. They were a cover two team. Can you imagine if all of a sudden, instead of being a Cover 2 team, all of a sudden they come out and they gonna say, you know what? We're gonna play single high. We're gonna play quarters. Well, that's not what you've done all year to get you to this point. Now, if I'm going out there, if you start to gash me in what I'm doing now, I got to make an adjustment. Why would I make an adjustment before I have to?
Tom Brokaw
Right.
Chad Ochocinco
When you've been the best team all year, you've been.
Lester Holt
You won 68 games. You're one of the few teams that's won at least 80 games before you reached the finals, and then all of a sudden, you let this team. Granted, Indy is playing well, I don't think. I think all four of us can agree Indy has played well. I think they've been the biggest surprise in the NBA playoff this year. They beat the 64 win team, and they've been the underdog. They beat the Bucks, they beat Cleveland, they beat the Knicks. And they've been the underdog. You know what? If they were to pull this off in the last 30 years, this might be the biggest upset this might be considering. This might be Detroit, LA beating LA in 03. This might be the Mavericks beating the Heat in 2011. Because think about what they, the gauntlet that they've gone through. They've been the underdog in the first round, in the second round, the third round and the finals. And they're going up against the final, the MVP of the league and the best offense, the best defense.
Tom Brokaw
Shannon, be truthful about this thing. The Pacers have played better than anybody in the playoffs. They played, they've outplayed, they outplayed everybody. And that includes okc. OKC played. Eh, they've been okay in some games they struggle. But the Pacers have been the best playing team during this NBA Finals, during the final, during this whole NBA playoff, they've been the best team. So it shouldn't surprise us. And at the end of the game for them to make that shot. Oh my God.
Lester Holt
Oh hell. It was.
Tom Brokaw
I could just, I could feel, I could feel the things you were talking about. I can feel Joe, I could feel Joe's pain when he came on. I could feel OJ's pride when he was sitting there. And then, you know, and my parlay baby was on that part.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, bro, you gotta chill. Hey, you gotta chill, bro.
Tom Brokaw
You gotta chill.
Lester Holt
You got think about, I mean look at Joe. If you guys, we think about, look who they beat. They beat first team, unanimous all NBA selection. Giannis, they beat defensive player of the year Evan Mobley. They beat. He was a first team all NBA. Donovan Mitchell, they beat third team. Jalen Brunson was an all NBA selection. I mean so look at, look now you got Shay Shay, unanimous mvp. Jalen Williams, third team. Dor. I think Dort was on the all defensive team.
Tom Brokaw
Tell me, Shannon, you're saying that, tell me the player in Indiana that we're saying is the all star player.
Lester Holt
Nobody. Didn't Halle go to the. Halle went to the all star game this year, right?
Chad Ochocinco
Nah, he didn't.
Lester Holt
But he, but he is.
Cedric Maxwell
A star. Him and Stockham, they, they are not superstars.
Tom Brokaw
They are stars.
Lester Holt
Yeah, they. Yeah, but the thing is they're by committee. The only thing that you know is that late in the ball game if you need a shot to win a tie, Halliburton's gonna take it.
Tom Brokaw
Woo.
Chad Ochocinco
Yeah. You can't let him hang around. He gonna take Bread.
Lester Holt
Bread. He just, just like everybody do if that game was laid, the ball game, y' all know 33. 33 was gonna take. Okay, y' all keep fooling around in the game show. What was.
Tom Brokaw
I'm trying to figure out what Halliburton's dad, mother did in that game. Was he doing cartwheels out there?
Lester Holt
I mean.
Chad Ochocinco
He on probation already, so he kept his.
Tom Brokaw
No, I mean, that's my son out there. I'm doing a cartwheel out there in the middle of the floor like, no, don't do that.
Chad Ochocinco
No, no, no, no.
Lester Holt
That got you. That got you put in jail. You. Hey, they gonna revoke your parole.
Tom Brokaw
Look, I'm telling you what the way that game played out is. I'm just like all you guys right now, looking at it. In the beginning of this game, everybody had Indiana not playing. And then the turnovers, like you said, Joe. I kept doing like this. I'm like, damn, another turnover.
Lester Holt
Damn. I'm like, how many times? How many times? Go throw the ball back court all.
Tom Brokaw
Now, I thought they were a long time, and then all of a sudden they reel them back in. Joe, you've been there before. Oh, Joe, you've been there before. Shannon, I know you've been there before. Out there, what they call. Get your fishing pole out there and you reel that sucker and you reel him in. You punk him and then you pull him back in. He might go a little bit further, but you got him on that line. You got that thing in his mouth like that.
Lester Holt
Don't know about fishing, though. Brad, Brad, you got to stop talking. Ocho don't know about setting no hook. He don't know nothing about no short fishing. He don't know about no flat. No flathead. He don't know about no buttercat. No child or cat. No speckled cat. He don't know nothing about that.
Cedric Maxwell
No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Listen. He talk about fishing, right? You talk about actual fishing now. And there's. There's. There's other perspectives in a different context that I can talk about and use the same thing y' all talk about when it don't do that.
Lester Holt
We on probation. We on probation, don't you. We on probation.
Cedric Maxwell
We can't get too soon, too soon, too soon. My bad, my bad. Oh, I know how to fish.
Lester Holt
Yeah, yeah, you know, you get it. You good hunter.
Tom Brokaw
Oh, I'm a hunter now.
Cedric Maxwell
I know my baby watching. Hey, hey.
Lester Holt
Yeah, Two leg hunting. But that's okay. We will talk about that. We'll talk about that next.
Chad Ochocinco
About three, four months.
Tom Brokaw
We'll talk about that.
Cedric Maxwell
My bad. My apologies.
Lester Holt
But you got sick. But think about it. When the Pacers. When the Pacers win ball games, look at the stat line. Look how many guys they have in double figures. They're going to have at least, at bare minimum, five. Sometimes they get six even. Last game, they had seven guys in double figures. And those guys. And that's hard to plan for because you're like, okay, we got a key on. We gonna key on Jalen Williams and we gonna key on Shay. If somebody else goes haywire and gives us 25, 30, we can live with that. Yeah. All the Pacers gonna do is have a bunch of 19, 17, 14, 13, 15, 16. You have two nines and an eight.
Tom Brokaw
Joe, did you happen to see that play? Kind of at the end of the game when I thought it was. Shay got pushed, Che got fouled, and he pushed the opposition away. That look crap to me because you don't see that from Shaq.
Lester Holt
He's cool.
Tom Brokaw
But all of a sudden, he did like Shannon Sharp did at that Laker game that time.
Lester Holt
Joe.
Tom Brokaw
I kept bringing it up. I'm sorry, Joe. Every time I think about it, I can see Shannon on the floor. Bring your ass over here, Ned. Emma, bring your ass. Bring your ass. Okay. Bring your ass. Bring your ass. And he, you know, when he told me, Joe, he told me, I didn't. I didn't step on the floor. I'm like, who the hell the pe to step over the floor? I look down, there's a damn camera angle. Are you like, this the freaking ass over here?
Lester Holt
I'm like, yeah, I looked out the feet. I'm like, hold on, let me. Let me get feedback. I'll make sure I ain't on the floor.
Chad Ochocinco
Did you have.
Tom Brokaw
Huh?
Chad Ochocinco
Did you have some of your system that night?
Lester Holt
No, no, no, no.
Chad Ochocinco
Okay.
Lester Holt
No, I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. Only time. It's got to be a private event. I don't. I don't. I wouldn't. I wouldn't drink out in public like that. Hell no.
Cedric Maxwell
Sometimes, you know. Hey, sometimes, though, you be in certain situations now, regardless of your environment, you got to stand up for yourself. You just can't let them do any kind of way when the camera.
Lester Holt
Absolutely, yeah. But I was. I was. I was surprised, and I agree with you, Brad. I thought, you know, I thought they let him play to a certain. They were letting the play. I'm like, well, damn, that ain't no foul, daddy. Oh, yeah. Letting them play tonight.
Tom Brokaw
That was 80s basketball.
Lester Holt
Yes, yes.
Tom Brokaw
Where it was physical, it was a lot of bumping, it was a lot of pushes. And what it does, it favors Indiana because they're the more physical team. Indiana Pacers are the more physical team. OKC is more of the finesse team. And because of that, the finesse at the end got pushed around by the team that was more aggressive. That was Indiana, man.
Chad Ochocinco
They gotta have some size in the game, fellas. This is why OKC lost, man. Y' all know that, man. Come on. They had that lead kind of left, let their foot off the gas a little bit, and Indiana is gonna do what they've been doing the whole postseason, man. They're gonna keep playing to the buzzer sound now at the last five to seven minutes. When you playing small ball, that's gonna work in Indiana favor, man, you don't have no size in there to combat nothing defensively. You can't get no offensive rebound. They limiting you to one shot, and they pushing it down your throat. I just thought, okc. Yeah, like. Like you said, Cornbread. They. They overthought it, man. Why would you change up your lineup like that? Okay, if it don't work in the first five minutes, okay, we'll make some subs and we'll get some guys in. But outside of that, I'm not letting y' all change what we've done all year.
Tom Brokaw
We're the best team, and we've been playing this way all year. And now I get to the game, and all of a sudden I'm gonna change what I do. It's like when I heard them say they had to change the lineup, I'm like, why would they do that?
Lester Holt
Yeah. Cause that's what I did. I was looking at it. Cause I'm looking at. I'm like, hold on. This guy said. I'm like, man, hold on. Wallace doesn't normally start, and they didn't dial him. I'm like, well, who normally starts? I was like, well, somebody must have got hurt. And then I see Hardenstein say. Hardenstein is supposed to be up on that first line, not in the second line. Because what happens? Like you said, guys, if you notice, Indiana, okay, they starting to make a comeback now, they miss a shot, guess what they can do? Get another opportunity.
Tom Brokaw
Yep. Yep.
Lester Holt
Because somebody. Hey, somebody get a rebound. Cause you don't really have no size in there. Basically, you got guards, all guards. You got Shay is a guard, Lou Dorrance a guard, Wallace is a guard, Williams is a guard.
Tom Brokaw
And you play With Chicken Hungren. Played like a guard.
Lester Holt
Played like a guard. He wants to be a guard. He don't. Like I said.
Cedric Maxwell
Look, you know, you know what's funny? It.
Tom Brokaw
It is.
Cedric Maxwell
You know, it's funny. Everybody, everybody. Already it seemed like they crowned the Thunder before the series even started. Now we talk about now the Thunder lose. They had the whole game one, obviously until the last three, two minutes, whatever it may have been. Now Joe and Un Kornbread, even you said what they need to do and do what they've always done the past few series starting at two bigs right now, you know it's going to. I'm gonna tell you how the basketball guys work. They gonna start they two bigs and then get their ass ran off the goddamn court.
Lester Holt
Stop it.
Chad Ochocinco
I ain't going.
Lester Holt
I'm telling you.
Cedric Maxwell
Listen, I guarantee you that's what happens. It's just, it's just in general.
Tom Brokaw
It's just in general.
Lester Holt
Would you let me ask you a question? Would you rather lose your way or lose somebody else's way?
Cedric Maxwell
I'd rather lose my.
Lester Holt
Because that's what I, I got. I gotta, like Brad said, I gotta dance with what got me there. I'm not finna change because, hey man, you let me see what they got going on and then I got me a change of clothes in the car. So if I overdress, if I'm overdressed, I take my ass to the car and then I'll come back, but I'm not going to change. You say, hey man, you gonna be overdressed? And then I walk up in there with blue jeans on, there's a black tie. Fair n. I'mma bring good change of clothes and then I'll dress accordingly once I get there to see what's going on.
Tom Brokaw
Now you, where you going to change your clothes at? You out in the car or you.
Lester Holt
Yeah, yeah, you know, we change, we changing the car. You, you, they ain't never, they ain't never been no problem for us. I say bad, but I was. But look, you got to go back. I mean, the last time, I think it was Lebron. I think it was what, 20, was that 2017. 2017 when he was hitting all those game winners. You remember he hit that one against Indy and he hit that one against Toronto and he played a Halliburton. I can't remember a guy hitting this many game winning or game tying shots in one playoff run.
Tom Brokaw
And you can see these plays though. And Joe was good at this. I wasn't that dude because we had Larry Bird, guys like that, man.
Chad Ochocinco
You were MVP in the finals playing with Larry Bird. What did you talk about?
Tom Brokaw
I was pretty much a bitch, I can tell you that. But I know at the end of the game when that ball was going to be shot, I was going to be able to get a rebound. Because you had Birds shooting the basketball. When we look at Holliburton right now, this might be that. This is the craziest thing we think about a guy that all the other players in the NBA said was the most overrated player and now they've stepped up and kicking ass and taking names every single game. That is ridiculous. And you know it's coming. You and I can see it. At the end when they got the ball, I was like, oh no, it's not.
Lester Holt
Oh yeah, it can't happen again.
Tom Brokaw
It can't happen again. No, it can't. Yeah.
Chad Ochocinco
Yeah.
Lester Holt
I mean, think about it. He's hit game winning shots. He's hit game. Remember he hit the game winning layup against Milwaukee.
Tom Brokaw
Yeah.
Lester Holt
He hit the game hit two game winning shots against Cleveland, hit the game win against the Knicks and here we are again. He's got five game winning shots and if I'm not mistaken, hell, all of them might be in this, in this playoff run. He's been. He's been phenomenal.
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Chad Ochocinco
Man, I, I, I Halle has been great. Early in the game for me though, guys, he, he, he, he's not aggressive enough. It's like he just kind of, he's so passive and he let everybody else kind of make plays, but let him hang around and he get him a chance in that fourth quarter, he gonna come alive and he, and he made that.
Lester Holt
Obi topic was key though. Obi Toppet was key tonight. How many times would he shoot that?
Tom Brokaw
Let me ask you this. How many times have you seen that from the great Michael Jordan games where he just coast alone, get other people involved and then at the end of the game, you know who the assassin's gonna be. And because he got other people involved in the game now you can't run away from the nem hearts. You can't run away from all these guys. Mount Turner hit a huge three. Everybody started hitting shots because now he had them involved. They were confident and you could see the wind just being taken out of the cells of what was going on in okc. It was if for me. This is Joe, I'm like you about this and I'm sure you guys are like this in football. My man. My best thing I used to love Ocho was I used to love when I went to somebody else's arena and I saw damn kids start crying when they would leave the game. I love it. I love that. It's like, oh, they lost something. Like that was my, that was my, that was my pet peeve. I loved it.
Lester Holt
Yeah. And you look at a late night ball game, Nemhardt was going one on one. So give me the ball. Yeah, give me the ball. Hey, he going at folks.
Chad Ochocinco
He played with Shay, so he comfortable playing against Shay. Yeah, they played on the same national team, so it ain't like, you know, this ain't foreign to him. He like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got this. Cause confidence was oozing out of him late in the game. Ocho, that boy was getting to it. You hear me?
Tom Brokaw
Yeah.
Chad Ochocinco
And it's like they was breaking down the defense so much that they were getting wide open jumpers. I'm like, man, what is OKC doing?
Lester Holt
Joe how much that parlay was tonight? Not that you gonna get it, but.
Chad Ochocinco
I'm just saying I would have got 12 bands, man.
Tom Brokaw
Somebody get. Somebody get just some damn Alka Seltzer. Because his damn stuff. His stuff running down after that shot, that holographer. It had to be some brown stuff running down his leg.
Chad Ochocinco
Hold on, hold on.
Lester Holt
Joe, Joe. You was gonna lose because they was favoring you didn't cover the spread.
Chad Ochocinco
Man, I wasn't talking about no spray hunk. I had a couple players who gonna do what they was doing and I was gonna win. Hear me?
Tom Brokaw
Hey, 12, 000.
Chad Ochocinco
Yeah, man. For a little nothing too. Ocho, I ain't bet but a little nothing.
Lester Holt
Guess what? And you got a little or nothing, so it's even.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, that. Hey, that would have been. That would have been. That would have been nice, boy. That would have been nice.
Chad Ochocinco
You talking about for me?
Cedric Maxwell
You. We could have split that.
Chad Ochocinco
Oh, no, no, no.
Lester Holt
Hey, check this out, guys. Game one, the Pacers. It was their fifth comeback victory from a deficit of 15 or more points in the 2025 NBA playoffs. That's the most by a team in a single postseason since 1998. Check this out. The Pacers. The Bucks had them. The bucks were up seven points in the final 35 seconds with a 98% chance to win. They lost. They were. The Cavaliers had them down seven points in the final minute with a 96% chance of winning, and they lost. The Knicks had a 99.7% win rate, up 14 in the final three minutes. They lost. The Thunder had a 96% chance to winning the game, up nine in the final three minutes. The Pacers won all four. Since 1998, only four teams have won a playoff game despite leading for the 30 seconds or less. In 1999, the spurs, game two, Western Conference finals, they only led 10 seconds. The Mavs, 2001, game five in the first round, 30 seconds. Lakers, game four, west finals, 2002, 13 seconds.
Tom Brokaw
Take them numbers. Take them numbers you just got. Take it to the nearest bathroom and go fluffy down the damn toilet. That's what you do with them.
Chad Ochocinco
That's.
Tom Brokaw
That's what I hate about all these guys right now with all the stats. Joe, if we look at Ocho, when people start getting to a game, a game is about heart. At the end of the game, Football, baseball, whatever it is, all the analytics that we want to go down, all these numbers you give Shannon, when you say 98%, this, that and the other 98, you got to have A set of balls at the end. And that's what wins games. I don't care who you are. I see nice on Joe. I saw Joe put down Paul Pierce with a hesitating dribble. You remember that, lady? He was trying to steal the ball from you, Joe.
Chad Ochocinco
And you watched him.
Tom Brokaw
I was like, I was like, damn, boy. And I was like, I'm like, yeah, damn, Paul.
Lester Holt
I said, yeah.
Tom Brokaw
I said. And here's the worst thing about it, Shannon. That game was in Boston. And when Paul went down and didn't get the ball, I guess.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, look, Bread, Bread, you know, you know Boston drafted me, man. I love coming back crowd. It was nothing better than that. It was nothing better than that.
Lester Holt
The Pacers led for a grand total of 0.3 seconds. Check this out. Cornbread, you will love this stat. NBA teams were 0 and 121. Went down by seven or more points in the final three minutes of regulation in the NBA Finals over the last 28 postseasons.
Tom Brokaw
Wow.
Lester Holt
0 for 121.
Tom Brokaw
Wow. But what does that do right now? Oh, oh, I. I know.
Lester Holt
Oh. And they got one for 121.
Tom Brokaw
Indians up one one game. And now all the pressure is on the young basketball team. Now can they come back? They come possibility. Because I mean, I don't think I've seen anybody. Joe, you are I still one on one. But this damn Shay is different. He is he. He's a he. Let's use the word. We like you. He's a. That's how we would say if he was. I was playing against them. We'd be on the best. Oh, that dude's a bitch, man. He's a bitch.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, them boys out there playing though, they. I'm talking about both teams, guard wise. They, they playing great defense. It's physical. I love to see it, man. The competition level is at an all time high. But man, OKC can't play that small ball against Indiana. I'm sorry, guys. They gotta. You gotta get back to the strong boy.
Lester Holt
Honestly.
Cedric Maxwell
Honestly, if you think about it and you look at the way things have played out, not only during the regular season, you look, look at the way things have played out during the playoffs. The analytics, the stats, the numbers, everything you, you draw, you've written down the way the game played tonight. Do you not see how the basketball guards have this thing lined up for the Pacers to win? Can you not see it? You can, you can see it like it's playing itself out in real time. And a lot of people aren't Paying attention to it because they're not looking at the past. They just listen. It's right there for you. So if you're a gambling man, if you're a gambling woman, if you play in that world of parlays and all that stuff, bet your money with the Pacers, I don't do it. I'm telling Joe. That's why you lost the night.
Chad Ochocinco
Chill, chill. They gonna bounce. They gonna, they gotta bounce back. They don't have a choice.
Lester Holt
Hell no. Pascal siakam in game one, 19 points, 10 rebounds, joins Dale Davis as the only Pacers with a 1510 game in the Finals. Obi Toppin, game one, 17 points, five rebounds, five made three pointers. Only Reggie Miller has more three point made in a game in franchise finals history. Despite the loss, Shea dropped off almost a 40 piece. He had 38 points, five rebound, three steals. That is the most points in a finals debut Since AI had 48 in the Game 1 in the 2001 Finals against the Lakers.
Chad Ochocinco
He didn't really get no help though.
Lester Holt
Honestly, shay, after game one long game one loss, he said, It's a 48 minute game. The Pacers teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league, the hard way. He's absolutely right.
Chad Ochocinco
Yeah, yeah, he's right. They gonna make you pay for the mistakes. And once you get comfortable and you think it's over, they gonna be steady fighting and swinging and they gonna catch it and it's gonna be night night.
Lester Holt
It's hard, Brad, you know, like, it's hard to reverse that momentum. You let a team get momentum, they see a couple go in and then you miss a couple. Now you start, man, I don't wanna shoot. Just let somebody else shoot. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You take it, I want it.
Tom Brokaw
And then all of a sudden and.
Lester Holt
You like, damn, he hit another one. When did Nemhard turn into Kobe Bryant? Rest Kobe soul, man. When did Obie Toppin turn into Steph Curry?
Tom Brokaw
Yeah, well, you know what happens? That is confidence from the coach. Rick Carlisle is giving those guys the green light to play fast. Rick Carlisle, as you would know, Joe at one time was more of a control guy, the way he controlled his players. But now I talked to Quinn Buckner, who does radio and television for those guys. He said, all of a sudden, Ricardo said, yo, guys, squat there, Play. Play the way you want to play. And we're going to win the basketball game because we're going to be creative, we're going to have tenacity and we're going to do something that nobody thinks. Nobody in the NBA right now thought this is going to. I looked all the experts, especially you got perk over there, even like, oh.
Lester Holt
Yeah, these are bunch of dogs.
Tom Brokaw
Somebody get mature shoes in the Escalade.
Lester Holt
You know, this is what I'm gonna do.
Tom Brokaw
This is because this what's gonna happen, dude, you got to play the game. You can't talk about it. You got to play the game.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, Joe, think about what you just said too early not too long ago, right? About Halliburton not being aggressive at the beginning of the game, being very passive. But look at the method to his madness, right? He's being passive, allowing everybody else to get themselves in a rhythm, allowing everybody else to gain that confidence as the game goes on. Then look at the shots they're hitting later on in the game. Shots don't count at the most opportune times where it matters most. And then what does Halle do? I'm not saying he has that mama mentality. I'm just saying he's acting mamba like. And he's been doing it all playoffs, all playoff long.
Tom Brokaw
He has.
Lester Holt
Hey, the chat is asking. They want to know Cornbread Joe who the real 31.
Chad Ochocinco
The real 31 right here.
Tom Brokaw
Joe. Joe, the real 31 is retired up in the Boston Garden.
Chad Ochocinco
My number two cornbread.
Tom Brokaw
I know who you are, Joe.
Cedric Maxwell
I believe in you.
Tom Brokaw
But between you and I, right now, there's only been 33 guys in the history of the NBA been the Finals MVP.
Lester Holt
You're right.
Chad Ochocinco
You're right. But the one thing, the one thing you could have done was at least put my initials in the jersey or something while hanging up there. You could have done something for you. Come on now. The 31 up there, yo, you and.
Tom Brokaw
I went up together, baby. We went up together. Don't you worry about it. We went up together. When I pulled it up, I was like, Joe Johnson. That's me and him going up together.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, hey, hey. Cause when I hey. Because when I see it in the Raptors, I show my kids, I'm like, yeah, that's. That was my number right there.
Tom Brokaw
That's daddy right there, man.
Lester Holt
Bread. I ain't gonna lie, man. In 81, when y' all came back on the Sixers from that 3:1 deficit. Yeah, that was sick.
Tom Brokaw
What a sick about that, man. That was. That was. That was as.
Lester Holt
I still haven't forgiven Daryl Donkey to Caldwell Joe for that bull J pull.
Tom Brokaw
He is that. It was one of the toughest series I'd ever played. And Shannon I know you always talk about Joe and Ocho. You guys always talk about what you do and where you've been. But if you've ever been ISO on one on one with Dr. J on the right hand side of the lane, and you got 8,000 people starting to stand up, all you stand is get out of the way, something bad about to happen. So I've been in them pressure situations. I know what it's like. But yeah, playing the Sixers and playing during those times during the 80s and watching Joe play and then the NBA now today, it's changed from what but where I thought it was. But tonight's game was more about the 80s. This was physical, physical game. Yeah, I'm knocking you around. This is what I loved about the game. And it seems like it always reverts back to that. At the end of the day, the game reverts back to the physical play of the teams.
Cedric Maxwell
Also. It's a testament to the refs, too. Somebody has to allow them boys to play. I'm not sure if they got the refs telling the refs, listen, letting the boys play, obviously in this series, don't interfere in the game. Don't interfere in the game unless it's an absolute foul. And it just has to be called. Let it be physical.
Tom Brokaw
Yeah, if you don't see no blood.
Lester Holt
You don't see no blood.
Tom Brokaw
Ain't nothing happened. That was during the 80s, and I saw that with Magic. I saw that with Worthy, you know, during the 80s. That's when they had. They put in the flagrant foul because of the Lakers Celtics series when what.
Lester Holt
You call him did that bull job with Kurt. With. With Kevin McEl. Smashed Kurt Rabbit's ass out the sky.
Cedric Maxwell
That was.
Chad Ochocinco
Hey, you suspended for the rest of the season with them type of foul nowadays.
Tom Brokaw
Oh, yeah.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, they were. Y' all was.
Lester Holt
Hey, you remember when lamb beer came down on Bird?
Tom Brokaw
Yeah. Yep, yep. You remember when. You remember when Parrish punched him about three or four times in the face? That was Kobe Bryant, God rest his soul. He was the one last dude that got the two peeps. Chris Child.
Lester Holt
Chris Child got it.
Tom Brokaw
And dudes now, they ain't gonna fight. They don't want.
Lester Holt
No, no, no, no. That's too much money at stake.
Tom Brokaw
Not bread. I can tell you like this. It was just like yesterday when I think about the Lakers. And I said this last time I was on your show, Shannon, I wouldn't give. If Magic was walking across the street right now and six dogs were chasing them. I wouldn't Call anybody. I'd get my damn phone out there and take pictures of it. And all them guys right? Now, I hate those guys. Joe, you and I played in the era where we didn't change your stuff. And, Shannon, you played in the era. Now you see guys after a game, they all holding up the other guy's jersey. This guy just kicked your ass. You holding up his jersey?
Zoe Saldana
What?
Lester Holt
Yeah, you. Hey, I. Look, you couldn't give me no jersey. You don't got three picks on me. You think I would? Hey, man, let me get that jersey. Hell, no, I don't want it.
Cedric Maxwell
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Cornbread. Now, back then, Bread, when y' all was playing in the 80s, did y' all. Y' all weren't friends outside of the game of basketball?
Lester Holt
Hell, no, man.
Tom Brokaw
First of all, Ocho, we had no damn cell phones, so we know we couldn't get a guy's phone number. And I didn't know a guy like that. I didn't want to know. And I'll tell you what I didn't do, Joe. This is what I didn't do, Ocho. This is what I didn't do. I wasn't going to pray with another guy before Chapel. I wasn't doing that. I wasn't doing that. He better pray I don't hit him in the back or something. That's what I. I had to have an egg, bro. I didn't believe all that. Like, well, my brother, we gonna do the. No, no, no, no. And that's why I respect what Draymond Green does from time to time. He crosses the line. And he got it with me during the series where they played the Southern, when he kicked Jaylen Brown in the head. And I just happened to tell him, I said it on air. I said, if he had been during the 80s, and that would have happened, oh, somebody would have fired his ass up.
Lester Holt
But.
Tom Brokaw
But what he does now, dudes don't do that, Joe. You know, it was the thing.
Cedric Maxwell
If you follow the guy.
Tom Brokaw
If you follow the guy hard, you knew what was gonna happen. You. You knew what? You knew who was coming off the bench. And you go down for a layup, you already knew what was gonna happen.
Chad Ochocinco
It's too much money to lose now, Brad. They ain't throwing no punches. These dudes make so much money nowadays, they get suspended for 10, 15 games. That's four, $5 million.
Lester Holt
Yeah, I get you. No, I might. I might have to go. Hey, bro, hey, don't do that no more, man, because I Don't want to lose. I don't want to. I don't want to lose this, but I don't want to lose this, buddy.
Tom Brokaw
Why are you saying that? You know, you, I, I that, that thing that showed me who you were. I've seen you play football before. Show me who you were playing football. But that thing you did when you were in, in LA at that game, that didn't tell me nothing about losing money.
Lester Holt
Oh, no. But the thing was though, like we played back when I came up. Oh, if you cheat shot of one of our guys, oh, we're gonna get your ass back. Don't worry about it. Don't even worry about it.
Cedric Maxwell
Hey, Cornbread. Hey, Uncle. About to come up out there at that sweater.
Tom Brokaw
Cardigan he had on. That's what it was. Wait, hold on. Bread.
Cedric Maxwell
How much?
Tom Brokaw
It was 4,000. He told us. He said it was $4,000. So you know, you know he was in, he was in Beverly Hills. That's where he was. He wasn't shopping like me. I go to Nordstrom Rap.
Lester Holt
That's where I go.
Tom Brokaw
He was, he was like. He was in the real. He was in Beverly Hills someplace on Rodeo Drive by or something like that. I don't even know where he found something like that.
Cedric Maxwell
A $4,000 cardigan. I ain't never heard of that. Who that was? My uncle made that.
Lester Holt
Ain't nobody made it, man.
Tom Brokaw
The volume.
Joe Johnson
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Shannon Sharpe
When it's tip off time at my house, there are a few things that are must haves on my checklist. My fellow friends and fans. Check My favorite jersey. It is good luck. Check. An iconic drink that's a fan favorite.
Tom Brokaw
Check.
Shannon Sharpe
Hypnotic can turn any cocktail into an iconic creation. With its game changing color and tropical flavor, Hypnotic should be in everyone's starting five. I consider Hypnotic the point guard on my game day roster because not only is it versatile, like having it on the rocks or as a base for cocktails. It also finishes smooth, so grab a bottle of Hypnotic and make your next basketball watch party iconic. Enjoy the vibrant taste with friends and turn every game into a memorable celebration. Hypnotic where every sip is a slam dunk. Hypnotic Liqueur Bardstown, Kentucky 17% alcohol by volume Hypnotic Reminds you to think wisely, drink wisely.
Jenny Garth
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Zoe Saldana
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Tom Brokaw
This is an I Heart podcast.
Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay – Nightcap - Hour 1: Unc, Ocho, Iso Joe & Cedric React to the Pacers’ Comeback Victory
Episode Details:
In this episode of Club Shay Shay, hosts Shannon Sharpe, Chad Ochocinco (Chad Johnson), Joe Johnson, and Cedric Maxwell delve into the dramatic conclusion of Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Released shortly after the game's conclusion on June 6, 2025, the discussion centers on the Pacers' remarkable comeback from a 15-point deficit to secure a narrow 111-110 victory.
The conversation kicks off with a detailed breakdown of the game's pivotal moments. The Pacers showcased resilience, overcoming a significant lead by the Thunder multiple times throughout the match. Chad Ochocinco highlights the team's persistence:
Chad Ochocinco [26:29]: "When they got down, like 15, they started playing that desperation basketball. They start making threes. Once they cut it to about six, I was like, all right now."
Cedric Maxwell emphasizes the Pacers' ability to maintain composure under pressure:
Cedric Maxwell [10:19]: "At any point when they actually do have a chance to get back in the game, boom. The Thunder gone run."
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the Thunder’s coaching decisions, particularly the unexpected shift from a two-big lineup to a smaller, guard-heavy formation. Lester Holt critiques this strategy:
Lester Holt [15:13]: "Why would you change up your lineup like that? It's one game, baby. That's why it's a series. You hear me?"
Tom Brokaw adds perspective on the importance of sticking to proven strategies:
Tom Brokaw [44:32]: "If you're a smart coach, you make the adjustments you have to make. That's why I said in the beginning of this series, it favored the Pacers because they had a coach who had championship experience."
The episode highlights standout performances from both teams. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered a stellar 38-point game, marking the highest in a finals debut since 2001. Shannon Sharpe praises Halliburton’s critical late-game performance:
Shannon Sharpe [30:58]: "He's a bitch. Shai is stepping up and kicking ass every single game. That is ridiculous."
Joe Johnson expresses frustration over his team’s performance and coaching changes:
Joe Johnson [07:25]: "Why would you change up your lineup like that? I thought OKC got it in the bag."
A recurring theme is the Pacers' aggressive defense, which led to 25 turnovers by the Thunder, a stark contrast to Thunder’s minimal turnovers. Cedric Maxwell analyzes the defensive breakdown:
Cedric Maxwell [22:14]: "All you have to do is make a mistake. We talked about Cornbread, he like, on to the next play. We good. On to the next one."
Tom Brokaw underscores the significance of defense in clutch moments:
Tom Brokaw [55:55]: "Game one, the Pacers. It was their fifth comeback victory from a deficit of 15 or more points in the 2025 NBA playoffs. That's the most by a team in a single postseason since 1998."
The hosts compare the Pacers' performance to historic NBA comebacks, noting the rarity and difficulty of such feats. Lester Holt brings in impressive statistics:
Lester Holt [54:25]: "Game one, the Pacers led for a grand total of 0.3 seconds. NBA teams were 0 and 121. Went down by seven or more points in the final three minutes of regulation in the NBA Finals over the last 28 postseasons."
Looking ahead to Game 2, the hosts speculate on potential adjustments by the Thunder and the Pacers' strategies to maintain momentum. Shannon Sharpe emphasizes the importance of maintaining defensive intensity:
Shannon Sharpe [59:55]: "They were down the court running the four by one with an easy point. So I'm thinking the game is over. So I'm sitting back, I'm relaxing. They get to the fourth quarter, okay, okay, both ends of the court, both teams are doing well."
Cedric Maxwell is optimistic about the Pacers' chances in the series:
Cedric Maxwell [41:05]: "Sometimes, you know, sometimes, though, you be in certain situations now, regardless of your environment, you got to stand up for yourself."
The episode wraps up with reflections on the Pacers' impressive comeback and the Thunder's need to reassess their strategy. Chad Ochocinco remains critical of the Thunder’s lineup changes:
Chad Ochocinco [32:25]: "You gotta get back to the strong boy. This is why OKC lost, man."
Tom Brokaw concludes with a nod to the physicality reminiscent of 1980s basketball:
Tom Brokaw [63:22]: "This was physical, physical game. Yeah, I'm knocking you around. This is what I loved about the game."
Notable Quotes:
Conclusion:
This episode of Club Shay Shay offers a comprehensive analysis of the Indiana Pacers' Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, highlighting strategic decisions, player performances, and historical contexts. The hosts provide insightful commentary on the game's dynamics, setting the stage for an exciting series ahead.