It took over a year for him to return to the Indiana Pacers after suffering a ruptured quad tendon last season, but Victor Oladipo was finally on the court and made some clutch plays down the stretch to fuel his team to victory against the Chicago Bulls last night.
Before the game, he wore a Kobe Bryant All-Star jersey and after the game, he was in tears saying that he had the “Mamba Mentality” throughout the whole game.
Though he came off the bench and only played 21 minutes, he scored 9 points and hit a crucial three pointer from way downtown to tie the score and force the game into overtime.
In OT, his team took over and rallied, eventually winning 115-106.
The Pacers are in the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, but only 2.5 games back from the 2nd seeded Toronto Raptors in a tight race for the those final playoff spots. The return of Oladipo will surely give Indiana a boost and hopefully get them a top seed and home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
With the team playing solid, the return of V.O. only solidifies them further in the East and makes them scary by the time the postseason starts.