T.J. McConnell brings the energy for the Pacers, who need him more than ever

INDIANAPOLIS — When T.J. McConnell checked in for the first time, as the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd bellowed upon hearing his name, he bent over and put both hands on the hardwood.
It's a ritual replete with symbolism. The NBA's poster child of scrappiness starts by putting his hands to the proverbial plow, his fingers in the dirt. Becoming one with the hardwood onto which he's about to pour himself. With 5:50 left in the first quarter, and the Indiana Pacers up by two over the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was time for McConnell to work. He clocked in with his hands.
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Thursday's Game 6 of the NBA Finals would require a certain energy. With the hosts facing elimination, desperation was in order. Urgency in every movement. All gas and no brakes for the opponent. This moment was made for McConnell.
'He's had to fight and claw and scrap for everything he's gotten in this league,' said Myles Turner, who has played five seasons with McConnell. 'For someone who was undrafted, for someone who was constantly (over)looked. … I know how bad he wants this.'
McConnell finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in 24 minutes of Indiana's 108-91 Game 6 romp of OKC. But the numbers don't do him justice. They don't convey his energy. They don't illustrate his influence on the tempo, the aggressiveness, the possibility of his team.
He is the only player in NBA Finals history to surpass 60 points, 25 assists, 15 rebounds and 10 steals off the bench.
It's uncanny how he gets where he wants on the court, squeezing between crevices on his drives, weaving in and out of the lane, the defense chasing him like the ghosts chase Pac-Man. It's befuddling how that pull-up jump shot of his, his form looking like he's putting something in a box on the shelf, can feel so automatic even though he's fading away and shooting over much bigger players. How he emerges from the trees with rebounds and seems to always have a jump on loose balls.
It's every bit a phenomenon. A backup guard leading with intangibles.
Indeed, McConnell invites every cliché possible. He for sure fits the mold of the overachieving, unathletic white player. He is but 6-foot-1, 190 pounds. He is heady. He is humble. He does play the right way. For the love of Hoosiers.
But don't patronize McConnell by limiting him to such tropes. He's worthy of any game, any style, any era. The guy can play. Full stop. He's a true hooper. A gamer in every sense. He's respected in every corner of the sport. Because hustle doesn't have a demographic. Unwavering confidence is a universal basketball language. And the desire to win, a hunger so strong it's palpable, garners respect everywhere.
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He is undersized, yet his impact is huge. He isn't explosive by any means, but he's gone off when the Pacers needed it most. He doesn't have 'a bag,' as the modern hoop litmus test prefers, but he's still carried Indiana at critical junctures.
The Pacers are, almost magically, a win from the franchise's first championship since its ABA days. It doesn't happen without McConnell, whose game seems to elevate with the stakes.
'It's no surprise what T.J. does out there,' Obi Toppin, one of McConnell's running mates off the bench, said after scoring 20 points. McConnell assisted on all four of Toppin's 3s. 'Any time he comes into the game, the crowd loves him, and he feeds off of that. He had a great start to the game, and it got us going. Brought juice into the game, energy into the game.'
Tyrese Haliburton, the face of the franchise, the Pacers' star point guard, valiantly battled through a strained calf, risking further injury to offer a fraction of himself as a sacrifice. He grinded on defense. He made some shots. He dropped some dimes. Indiana couldn't afford to get nothing from its star again, not with its season on the brink, and he delivered.
But the Pacers didn't need the full measure of Haliburton because of whom he calls their 'Great White Hope.' In Game 5, when Haliburton strained his calf and was rendered ineffective, McConnell provided the spark. He scored 18 points in 21 minutes. The Pacers might've cost themselves Game 5 by sitting McConnell too long.
But they are still alive, their title hopes boosted by their convincing Game 6 win as they head to a Game 7 in Oklahoma City on Sunday. And McConnell's fingerprints were all over the floor.
'Well,' McConnell explained, 'we were going home if we didn't come out and give everything we have and leave it all out on the floor. We have another opportunity to do that on Sunday.'
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Not even a minute into his first stint, he intercepted an outlet pass and found Toppin for a 3-pointer.
On a loose ball in the second quarter, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein dove to the floor to secure it. Pacers big man Tony Bradley was right next to Hartenstein and didn't hit the floor. But McConnell hustled over and lunged for the ball, on the hardwood, snatching it before Hartenstein could and starting the transition.
Indiana led 28-25 to start the second quarter. McConnell went to work. A driving layup. Then his patented fade-away in the lane. Another bucket in the lane moments later. The Thunder just didn't know what to do with him.
'To play to the last day possible of the season, Game 7,' McConnell said, 'you dream about that as a kid. So I know we have to be ready for the challenge.'
Game 7s can be ugly. Battles of attrition after a long, grueling season. A test of stamina. A measurement of heart. But that's even more in the realm of McConnell. The gear required for this expected setting is the only gear he knows.
He's already beloved in basketball-crazed Indiana. He's become a popular figure among basketball enthusiasts. He's highly regarded among his peers. But if Indiana wins, and McConnell once again imposes himself onto the game with the strength of his will, he'll become an iconic underdog. The king of overachievers. And the swelling warmth in his father's heart.
'I'm going to OKC for my son,' McConnell's father, Tim, said on the ESPN set. 'To play in the championship game. To win the world championship.'
(Photo of T.J. McConnell and Aaron Wiggins: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

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