The Indiana Pacers began the season simply wanting to move up a spot or two in the Eastern Conference standings after getting a brief taste of the playoffs last season.

They’ve accomplished that and much more.

The latest turn in the Pacers’ best season in eight years happened Thursday when they secured home court in the first round of the NBA playoffs by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 118-109 in a testy game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It’s tremendous the step that we’ve taken in one season,” Pacers forward Danny Granger said. “How we’ve had a complete turnaround. Now we’re one of the best teams in the NBA. It’s really fun to win like this.”

via Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star