Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Extend Win Streak to Seven, Beat Oklahoma City Thunder
149. 93. 100. Final. 90
The Indiana Pacers rely on a second half comeback and stingy defense to overcome Russell Westbrook’s 27 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists as they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-90.
The Good: The Indiana Pacers held an Oklahoma City Thunder team that averages 105.8 points per game to 90 points, which was the X-factor in tonight’s win. Defense is not always a guarantee with the Pacers, so their effort on that end displayed they can get it done. It’s just a matter of consistency there.
The Bad: Tonight’s shooting performance was dismal as the Pacers shot 37.9% from the field. Luckily, OKC only shot 38.6% so it evened out in that category.
MVP: Paul George. Reluctant to give this to him as he shot 7 of 20 from the field and had 5 turnovers, but he was huge in the win. It was a team effort all night, but George gets the nod here as he led Indiana in scoring (21) and rebounds (8).
LVP: Lavoy Allen. He played 30 minutes and only recorded 2 points. We could have used more from him with Thaddeus out of the lineup, but he was unable to get it done.
X-Factor: Glenn Robinson III. He shot 5 of 5 from the field and gave the Pacers some tremendous production off the bench that they have needed for some time now.
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B+. Although I gave PG13 the MVP, he doesn’t get an A because of his shooting percentage and turnovers. He was huge on the boards with 8, and led Indiana in the category. His 21 points also led Indiana, but the way he has been playing, Pacers fans know he can do much more than this.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE
Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE. B. Teague gets a B here. his 17 points were instrumental, but he only recorded 3 assists which is far away from his season average of 8.2. He also shot a below average 6/16 from the field.. Point Guard
Center. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. C. The rising sophomore had a rough night as he went 3/12 from the field and only pulled down 5 rebounds. His 4 blocks were impressive, but Myles is capable of more than what he gave Indiana tonight.
A. GR3 was fantastic tonight in 22 minutes. He shot a perfect 5/5 and contributed 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. If he can do this consistently, the Pacers will have some answers off of the bench. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
Monta played 22 minutes tonight, and handled the ball when he was in as Aaron Brooks didn’t make it off the bench. Ellis only had 2 points, but did have 4 assists.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS. C+
C.J. MILES. C+. C.J. played less minutes (19) than he has seen as of late. The sharpshooter provided 8 points on 3/10 shooting with 3 rebounds.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers
A-. Jefferson was solid in limited minutes and water is wet. The veteran had 8 points in 11 minutes to go along with 5 rebounds.. Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON
B. Seraphin contributed 2 points in 14 minutes and grabbed 2 rebounds. These stats don’t fly off the sheet, but he impacted the game and did a lot that the crowd doesn’t see. His presence was definitely felt, and his 2 blocks were nice to see.. Center. Indiana Pacers. KEVIN SERAPHIN
Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY. B+. Got to take it easy on Rodney here as he gets his feet back under him. Stuckey was productive with 9 points and an asisst. He was definitely a nice scoring punch off the bench and it will be nice to see him stay healthy.
D+. Lavoy was not what Indiana needed to fill the void of Thaddeus’ absence tonight. He played 30 minutes and only scored 2 points. Allen did rip down 5 rebounds and had 3 assists. He also did not get a rebound after the first quarter which is troubling.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN