Things couldn’t have been going much worse for Thomas Bryant last night in the Indiana Pacers 112-111 win over the Utah Jazz.

Starting in place of Myles Turner, Bryant must have felt like he was stuck in a nightmare with absolutely nothing going right for him in the game’s first three quarters. He was 1 for 9 from the floor, had missed all four of his 3-point attempts, been blocked at the rim, missed some rushed attempts to avoid being blocked and eventually frustration boiled over with him getting a technical foul and then pushing Bennedict Mathurin off of him as his teammate was trying to calm him down. The Pacers had been outscored by 18 in his 19 minutes to that point. 

“It was a difficult game offensively for me,” Bryant said after the game. “My teammates kept giving me the courage and enthusiasm to keep pushing through. For me, it was just trying to keep pushing through throughout the game. It’s not going to be a perfect game throughout the time but just glad we were able to get the win in the fourth.”

Then with 6:50 remaining and the Pacers chances on life support with the team falling behind by 12, Bryant got his shot at redemption and took full advantage of it as the Pacers quickly went on a 16-3 run with the center scoring 7 points in about 90 seconds including a crucial steal off an in-bounds pass tipping it away from Walker Kessler and to Pascal Siakam and then finished in transition and gave Indiana the lead with 2:24 left at 105-104 on an offensive rebound and putback. He was +14 in the 4th.

“Thomas was tremendous down the stretch,” Rick Carlisle said after the game. “His big body was everywhere, he finished plays, he had a transition dunk, he had an and-one. He was ever-present.”

The Pacers desperately needed him as the only healthy center available against a lengthy Jazz team with Walker Kessler, John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, and Kyle Filipowski making it a more challenging than expected night as the game made it clear how ridiculous all of the Myles Turner trade rumors have been this time around.

Bryant delivered and has been a blessing for the Pacers since they acquired him as they desperately needed someone to fill in those backup center minutes after losing Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman early in the season to Achilles tears. His energy and passion for the game has been a boost to the bench units. If they don’t acquire anyone of note at the deadline on Thursday, he’s been a midseason acquisition difference maker already, one of many reasons the Pacers have rebounded from their slow start and pushed into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.

“His skill-set fits what we need,” Carlisle said of why Bryant was able to seamlessly fit in so quickly, prior to Pacers victory over the Pistons last week. “He’s changed teams a couple of times so he’s well versed in making those adjustments. He very much wanted to be here. I think that very much adds to the smoothness of the transition and he’s helped us.”

Even after going 4 for 12 last night, Bryant is shooting 55.8% from the floor, 40.4% from 3, and 78.6% from the line with the Pacers as he’s averaged 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.