There are always victories within victories in sports. Sometimes there are even victories within defeats. Rodney Stuckey had one of the greatest individual victories of the Pacers' season Friday, which is now extended until at least Sunday in no small way because of him.
Stuckey finished the Pacers' 101-83 Game 6 victory over Toronto with eight points, four assists, three rebounds, a steal and no turnovers in his 19 minutes, 43 seconds. He hit 3-of-5 shots, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and made the assist on one of the game's biggest baskets early in the fourth quarter, when the Pacers completed an 18-0 run that gave them an 18-point lead.
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All that after living out a nightmare in the Game 5 loss in Toronto on Tuesday, when he hit 1-of-10 shots, missed both free throws, committed three turnovers, and was subjected to the Raptors celebrity rapper Drake shouting in his ear on the sideline after a turnover.
Stuckey was just one of many reasons the Pacers lost a 13-point lead heading into the fourth period of that game, but also was one of the primary instigators. These days, you don't get away with that kind of performance without hearing about it on social media, where fans can vent their frustrations under the cloak of anonymity. And Stuckey heard about it.
A simple photo on Twitter showing him shooting by himself after Thursday's practice, where he continued his tradition of being the last off the court, brought a barrage of snark.
"Needs to be last off the bench tomorrow night. He wasn't bad Tuesday, he was clueless."
"Unfortunately someone did not steal and destroy his passport before they left the Air Canada Center (sic) Tuesday."
"He shoulda been (taken) out the game. All those clutch buckets he missed."
"He needs the extra shot after last game. He was absolutely pathetic."
"Good. Cuz his performance last game in fourth was pretty much cat poop."
"He is hot garbage."
Stuckey got the last word on Friday, but didn't want it. Repeated questions about Tuesday's failures and Friday's achievements wore on him quickly in the locker room, bringing uncharacteristic ire.
Did he feel vindicated?
"Nah, I don't care," he said. "Game 5 is over. After Game 5, I forgot about it. I don't sit here and reminisce about what I did in Game 5. You move on. I've got a family to go home to and forget about those things. I've been in this league for nine years now, so I know how to mentally prepare myself and get over those things and move on."
Another question, not really related to Tuesday, brought a shorter response.
"I've had a lot of bad games in my career. I don't let one define me, man," he said. "You've just to move on, man. We knew we had to get this one. We played for 48 minutes at both ends of the court."
Finally, when asked if he had seen the social media reaction, he was done.
"I don't look at what people post on social media," he said. "I'm 30 years old. I'm a grown-ass man. I don't listen to that ----, all right?"
If his sideline "encounter" with Drake stands as the most memorable take of Stuckey's nightmare on Tuesday, he had a special rebuttal on Friday. He had hit a 3-pointer on the left wing to open an 80-64 lead. After Kyle Lowry's missed 3-pointer returned the ball to the Pacers, Paul George rushed the ball upcourt, dribbled into the lane and kicked out a pass to Stuckey in the right corner. He faked a pass over the head of his defender, Cory Joseph, who turned and looked behind him. Stuckey then dribbled into the lane and fed Myles Turner, who attacked the basket and hit a hanging left-handed layup that ignited the fans and Pacers bench. Turner's free throw off the foul on Jonas Valanciunas gave the Pacers an 83-64 lead with 9:36 left, essentially clinching the victory.
Stuckey celebrated nothing afterward.
"Tonight we just played for 48 minutes," he said quietly. "That's pretty much what it was."
Pacers coach Frank Vogel and Stuckey's teammates were more eager to talk about his comeback game.
"I know he was very disappointed how he played the last game, and took some heat for it that I think was unfair," Vogel said. "He had been good for us all year. Happy to see him respond."
Stuckey's teammates said they didn't give him any special pep talks before Friday. They didn't see a need for it. Like he said, he's a 30-year-old veteran who has experienced bad games before. He worked it out on his own by continuing to put in extra time on the practice court. While the other guards gather at one end for boisterous shooting contests after practice, he shoots by himself at the other end to get up as many shots as possible in relative quiet.
Players aren't always rewarded for their extra work, as he proved on Tuesday. But sometimes they are, as he proved on Friday.
If that surprised some of the fans who hurled insults through cyberspace earlier in the week, it didn't surprise his teammates at all. The way Solomon Hill saw it, the law of averages were in his favor.
"Stuckey's a professional," Hill said. "Whatever Stuckey shot the game prior, I'd be way confident now that he's going to bounce back. I don't think he's going to go 1-for-10 again, so got out and shoot with confidence."
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