By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

SINCE being added to the Indiana Pacers’ starting unit in late November, Bahamian guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield has thrived in his starting role.

In addition to Hield’s success, the Pacers are rolling not only in the Eastern Conference but also in the inaugural National Basketball Association (NBA) In-Season tournament.

The Grand Bahama native’s team currently sits at the sixth position in the respective conference with an 11-8 (win/loss record) and earned an undefeated 4-0 record in the group stage of the NBA’s newest tourney.

The Pacers’ most recent victory came against the Boston Celtics, the Eastern Conference’s first-seeded team, on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the In- Season Tournament.

The Pacers ousted the Celtics 122-112 in a crowd-thriller at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The former no. 6 pick played an instrumental role for the Pacers to help the team advance to Thursday’s semifinals.

He was the team’s second highest scorer, behind point guard Tyrese Haliburton, with 21 points in 32 minutes of action.

Additionally, he collected two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Offensively he was in top form, knocking down 7-for- 11 field goals on 63.6 per cent shooting and from behind the arc shot 4-for-6 on a 66.7 per cent shooting clip.

After a quiet first quarter, Hield got it going in the following period when he scored a driving layup on an assist from Benedict Mathurin at the 9:33 mark.

Less than two minutes later, the senior national team player splashed one of his four three-pointers on the night to give the Pacers a 33-30 lead.

The Bahamian three-point marksman garnered some momentum after he dropped yet another three followed by a dunk to give him 10 points in the knockout game.

In the fourth quarter alone, Hield scored 11 points to push his team to yet another tourney win.

During the 30-year-old’s seven games as a starter this season, he has averaged 17.4 points per game (ppg), pulled down 2.4 rebounds and dished out 2.6 assists. He has been a prolific scorer with a 53.6 per cent average for field goals and 47.1 percentage from behind the three-point line.

At the charity stripe, his efficiency remains up to par with 88.9 per cent.

Over the last seven games Hield has started, the Pacers have a 4-3 record which translates to a .571 win percentage.

The Bahamian guard has turned in some dominant games recently, particularly against the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.

In his first game back in the team’s starting lineup, Hield dropped a then season-high 24 points on a scorching 81.8 shooting percentage.

In the game, Hield canned 6-for-6 three pointers which was the first time in his career he made that amount of threes without a miss. If that performance was not enough, in the Pacers’ next game against the Raptors, the Grand Bahama native put up a season-high 31 points.

The points were paired with five assists and two steals.

He upped the ante with scoring in this game, making 7-for-12 shots from behind the arc for 58 per cent while shooting 70.6 per cent on field goals.

After rejoining the team’s starting lineup, Hield has been nothing short of productive for the Pacers.

Indiana hopes this continues as the team remains in contention for the NBA Cup.

The Pacers are scheduled to play again in the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals at 5pm on Thursday, December 7.