Colts punter Pat McAfee gives away Pacers playoff tickets

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Indiana Pacers and an Indianapolis athlete are trying to get fans excited about the NBA playoffs.

Pacers cheerleaders and host of the Pacers Overtime Show stopped by Daybreak Monday morning, ahead of Monday night’s Game 2 matchup with the Orlando Magic. The pacers lost Game 1 Saturday night 81-77.

"We just have to play our game," said Eddie White, Host of the Pacers Overtime Show. White was interviewed live on Daybreak.

"We lost one game. It's just one game! You have to look at the body of work. This team finished eighth last year and third [in the Eastern Conference] this year. I think the crowd will be wild."

Tickets are still available for purchase on Ticketmaster for the Monday night matchup, but Colts punter Pat McAfee is grabbing headlines for giving tickets away. McAfee announced on Twitter Sunday that he had purchased 375 pairs tickets and plans to give them away during a pre-game party dubbed "Pat's Pacer Playoff Party."

I bought 375 extra pairs of tickets for the @ Pacers game mañana.. #PatsPacerPlayoffParty get a pair.. 5PM Tomorrow-> Home Court Gift Shop

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 29, 2012

Starting at 4:30 p.m. Monday at the Home Court Gift Shop at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, fans will shoot a free throw for a chance to win four tickets to Monday night's game. If they miss the basket, fans will receive two tickets. The event is expected to last until 6:15 p.m. or until all the tickets have been handed out.

Despite Saturday’s loss to Orlando, the Pacers are still favored to win in Monday night's game, mainly because Orlando's All-Star center, Dwight Howard, is out for the season after having back surgery. Howard averaged 23.8 points and 10.8 rebounds against Indiana.

“We know we have to bounce back. We know it’s a seven-game series and we know this is the NBA. We must collect ourselves and bounce back immediately. They hit some key shots when they had to and kept us away. They had a good game plan and it worked," said Darren Collison on the Pacers' website.

Pacers Center Roy Hibbert had a franchise playoff high of nine blocked shots in the game, but it wasn't enough to stop the Magic from beating the Pacers.