If Pacers fans want to say that the team's 4-1 first round loss to the Bulls last year was closer than the numbers suggested, then they must also accept that the Pacers' 4-1 victory over the Magic, accomplished several hours ago, was a pretty close call as well.

Not to say the Pacers were not clearly the better team. They were. Without Dwight Howard, this Magic squad was supposed to be cannon fodder, but to the credit of their players and coach Stan Van Gundy, they fought unbelievably hard and had Pacers fans such as myself sweating bullets much more often than we would have liked. 

In the end -- 

Game 1: 81-77 (Magic)

Game 2: 93-78 (Pacers)

Game 3: 97-74 (Pacers)

Game 4: 101-99 OT (Pacers)

Game 5: 105-87 (Pacers)

-- the scorelines show only 2 close games, but in reality all games had their moments and were close until at least the third quarter. 

In the close-out game, Game 5, the Pacers once again raced out to an early lead but as usual allowed the Magic back into the game. While they usually broke open the game in the third, it was the Magic who put the foot on the gas this time, turning a 3 point halftime deficit into a 2 point lead heading into the fourth. At that stage, I was convinced that we were heading to a dangerous Game 6, and potentially a frightening Game 7.

Instead, Darren Collison happened, and the Pacers dominated 36-16 in the final quarter to finish off the Magic. Collison, who lost his starting job to George Hill towards the end of the season while recovering from a groin injury, was sensational, going 7-7 from the field and dishing out 4 big assists. For the game, Collison had 19 and 6. For the series, he had 23 assists against a single turnover.

The biggest contributor in Game 5 was no doubt Collison, but like every other game this series, it was a complete team effort. David West was a rock and a beast. Roy Hibbert swatted shots and protected the middle. Granger missed a lot but was a fearless leader who also hit a lot. Paul George had a disappointing series scoring-wise but did a lot of other little things. Every guy that played contributed in some way.

But still, this was also often a really frustrating series, marred by lapses in concentration, poor ball handling, being outhustled, bad shots and questionable coaching decisions. The Pacers wanted to be a grind it out kind of team and they have been, and it hasn't always been pretty. In fact, it was sometimes very ugly this series. Call it a learning experience for a young team still trying to find its identity.

And now, the Pacers have their first series win since 2005, the year Reggie Miller retired. Oh yes, and it's the first series win for a Pacers team that doesn't have Miller on its roster. Isn't that crazy?

Celebrations are likely to be shortlived, becase a stark reality awaits them next round. Although coach Vogel and the players don't want to admit it, they are going to be facing the Miami Heat in the next round, a team that most believe will simply cruise through to the Finals, if not the championship (I know, I know, they said that last year too).

The Pacers will be a bigger underdog against the Heat than they were favorites against the Magic. It's going to be that kind of a series, where everyone will have to play their best for the team to have a chance in any game, and sometimes even that's not going to be enough. But hey, given all the injuries that have happened this year (not to say I am wishing an injury on any Heat player), anything is possible if something unfortunate does end up happening to a key player or two.

As daunting as the challenge ahead of them seems, I kinda like the predicament the Pacers are in right now. I prefer them as the underdogs because I know they will be fighting and clawing all the way, and if they've learned a thing or two from the Magic team they've just eliminated, they should be pretty tough to deal with for the talented Heat. Even if they get blown away, I'd like to hope that they'd take a lot away from finally reaching round 2 after all these years.

I'll hold off any predictions for now out of respect for the Knicks. Stay tuned. 

Phew. The Indiana Pacers, up 80-63 in the fourth quarter, looked like they were on their way to another easy victory against the Orlando Magic in their first round series. But full credit to the Magic, who scratched and clawed and rode the momentum of the home crowd to get right back into this one and almost pulling out the victory before heading to overtime, where the Pacers eventually prevailed, 101-99, on a pair of George Hill free throws.

Yes, the same George Hill that almost lose a game for the Pacers late in the regular season by missing 3 of 4 free throws, was huge down the stretch, scoring the Pacers' final 6 points of the game -- 4 big free throws wrapped around a baseline floater -- to effectively ice it.

In all, it was another team effort. David West was best with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Roy Hibbert was a beast with 14, 11 and 3 blocks, though he could have done more. Granger had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Darren Collison was huge off the bench with 11 points and 9 assists in just 18 minutes.

So now the Pacers are up 3-1 and can close out the series against the Magic in game 5 back in Indiana. A lot of people may have predicted that the Pacers would be up 3-1, but I think few would have guessed that they'd lose game 1 at home and win both games in Orlando. Regardless, it's a good position to be in.

As for this game, I guess you could look at it in two ways. The first is that the Pacers showed they're not mentally ready for the Miami Heat in the second round. The second is that the Pacers have taken a big step forward in holding on and grinding out the victory -- after losing game 1 in a similar collapse. I guess we'll have to see if they can close out the series first.

Thaaaaaat's more like it. The Indiana Pacers thumped the Magic in Orlando, 97-74, getting back the home court advantage they lost in game one and shooting to a 2-1 lead in their first round series. It was still close in the first half, but like they did in game 2, the Pacers broke it open with a massive third quarter (32-17) and cruised to an easy win.

I said after game 2 that the Pacers needed Danny Granger to start hitting his shots and for Roy Hibbert to stay on the floor. I also said the Pacers needed to share the ball better, having only dished out a total of 9 assists in game 2. Well, they responded. Granger scored a career playoff high 26 points on 9-16 shooting including 5-9 from downtown. Roy Hibbert had 18 and 10 on 8-10 shooting and swatted three shots. As a team they had 16 assists, not great but still a significant improvement. With the team playing so well it didn't even matter that David West, who had been the Pacers' best player in the first 2 games, had an off night with just 4 points on 2-9 shooting.

Does this mean the Pacers will now win with ease the rest of the way? I hope so, but a series like this can change in a real hurry. As long as the Pacers continue to play to their strengths and not take the Magic easily they should be fine, but to be honest it feels like there are a couple more twists left in this series.

The Pacers aim for a 3-1 lead on Saturday. 

San Antonio's Greg Popovich is 2012's NBA Coach of the Year. Chicago's Tom Thibadeau was second. Third? Indiana's Frank Vogel.

Big kudos to coach Frank for coming in third. Pop got 77 of the first place votes to finish with 467 points, while Thibs got 27 first place votes for 315 points. Frank was a distant third with 7 first place votes and 161 points, but it's a great accomplishment nonetheless.

Was the ranking deserved? Absolutely. Could the Pacers have done even better? I think so.

The Pacers finished with their best regular season record (by percentage) since the 2003-2004 season and the 5th best record in the entire league. This certainly exceeded the expectations of most, but when you consider the shortened schedule, the depth of the team and the new talent (David West, George Hill, and Leandro Barbosa for a little bit), is it really more impressive than say the coaching performances of guys like Tyrone Corbin of the Jazz, Doc Rivers of the Celtics or Lionel Hollins of the Grizzlies? Then again, I suppose you need to consider that Vogel is the league's youngest coach (not yet 39) and that this is his first full year as a head coach.

What I'm trying to say, I think, is that Vogel has done a commendable job given the circumstances, but the Pacers still have a lot of room for improvement. Their offense is still a little too simple and the team's mental toughness and ability to close out games is still questionable. But hey, it's already a big step forward from the Jim O'Brien days. I just wonder how good the Pacers would be if they had an experienced, disciplined veteran coach like Pops or Thibs. But the great thing with Vogel is that he can grow with this young team. Congratulations. 

It wasn't pretty, but the Pacers did what they had to do, breaking open a tight game in the third quarter to cruise to a 93-78 win and evening their first round series against the Magic at 1-1.

The Pacers got out to an early lead, but the Magic, to their credit, came back to take the lead. I said at the beginning of the series that it was going to be a tough series. Yes, the Magic are without Dwight Howard, but they still have a dangerous team full of experienced veterans and a quality coach in Stan Van Gundy, while the Pacers are still an inexperienced playoff squad trying to find their identity. The Pacers have been a grind it out team all season and there's no reason to expect that they would simply walk through the Magic, with or without Dwight Howard. That said, it still sucks watching them struggle.

And struggle they did in game 2. Despite the score, this was not the kind of game that would make you think, "The Pacers have finally figured it out and will win easily for the remainder of the series." Nope. This was the kind of game which makes you think, "This is going to be a long, difficult series."

For me to be wrong, Danny Granger needs to find his mark. He had another shocker in game 2, shooting just 7-21 including 1-10 from three point range. Ouch. At least he hit all three free throws. Roy Hibbert needs to stay on the floor. The big man was supposed to dominate the Magic's smaller front line but instead was troubled by the speed of their shorter forwards and got in foul trouble early, finishing with just 4 points on 5 field goal attempts.

But it's not just these two. The Pacers as a team have not been playing well so far. They're not the greatest passing team but still, they are not sharing the ball like they should be. They were second last during the regular season (ahead of OKC) with 18.6 assists per game, but in game 2? A dismal 9 assists. That's right, of their 33 made field goals, the Pacers assisted on just 9 of them. That's got to improve because you know the Magic are going to make adjustments.

To be fair, the Pacers just need to win one of the next two to be back in control, but given the expectations they have set for themselves, they should aim to get both games in Orlando.