The NBA Thursday slate was a great night for the Indiana Pacers. They hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Gainbridge FieldHouse and picked up an impressive 135-126 victory over the division-leading Cavaliers.
Indiana did an excellent job of limiting Donovan Mitchell, who scored a team-high 28 points but shot only 10-of-25 from the field. The leading scorer in the game was Tyrese Haliburton, who scored 29 points to go along with a game-high nine assists.
A bunch of those assists went to sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who had another strong game. Hield scored 25 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range, adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
However, the most memorable 3-pointer of the evening came on an assist from Cavaliers’ center Jarrett Allen. Allen won the opening tip, hitting the ball back, but it landed in Hield’s hands as he knocked it too far away from Evan Mobley.
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Hield caught the ball, turned and shot a 3-pointer immediately as Darius Garland didn’t have enough time to really contest the shot. He splashed the first of his five 3-pointers, setting an NBA record in the process.
His 3-pointer at 11:57 remaining in the first quarter is the fastest 3-point make since the 1996-97 season, which is when play-by-play recording began. The fastest 3-pointer before that was done by fellow Pacer Reggie Miller. Miller’s came on March 5th, 2000, against the Golden State Warriors with 11:56 remaining in the quarter.
The scoreboard on the television broadcast was coming up on the screen as Hield knocked down the shot. Given Hield’s position and reaction to the tip, it looked like something that Indiana had prepped for.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Buddy Hield, Reggie Miller & Indiana Pacers Updates
It is a very impressive highlight and one that could stand forever. It is hard to imagine that record being beaten in a quicker amount of time given the chain of events that need to occur for it to become a reality.
