Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Leave D.C. Losers, Washington Wizards Get the Win
By William Furr
142. 107. 100. Final. 112
The Indiana Pacers hang tough in D.C. behind Paul George’s 31 points, but eventually fall to John Wall and the Wizards.
The Good: This game was fine overall.
The Pacers led or were close the entire game, on the road against a Wizards team that has been playing extremely well. They came up short, but it was a hard-fought game that was mostly bereft of any utter breakdowns like the Pacers have seen all season.
The Bad: The Pacers gave up 28 and 10 to Markieff Morris. Lavoy Allen and Kevin Seraphin both had good offensive games, but the Pacers needed Thad Young’s combination of size and speed here, and just didn’t get it.
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At least Ian Mahinmi didn’t have a revenge game.
MVP: Paul George.
Quietest 31 points I think I’ve ever seen. Really would’ve liked to see him with more success against smalls, but Wall and Beal seemed unafraid of him in the post.
LVP: C.J. Miles.
Yikes, CJ. He’s always been a streaky player, and was hot against Cleveland, but was not good tonight. Had no buckets until hitting a 3 when the game was out of reach.
X-Factor: Rebounds.
The Wizards only outrebounded the Pacers by 4, but Marcin Gortat and and Markieff Morris alone had more rebounds than all 5 Pacers starters.
A-. 31 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, only 1 turnover. PG must like playing in DC, as he always seems to have massive games there. Felt like he could’ve been even bigger, but a good all around game.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE
C+. 13 points and 9 assists, only shot 4-12 from the field. John Wall had 26 points and 14 assists, and took 15 free throws. Not a great performance by Teague, but he did keep the offense moving.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEFF TEAGUE
C+. 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists. Only took 9 shots, and got beat up by Marcin Gortat pretty handily. Many of Gortat’s rebounds came at the expense of Turner’s help side defense, which isn’t totally his fault – the team has to be there to back him up when he helps.. Center. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES. D. 1-6 from the field, 1-5 from deep, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 points, zero impact. Lost his place closing the game to Monta Ellis until things were out of reach.. Shooting Guard
LAVOY ALLEN. B. 10 points on 5-6 shooting, 5 rebounds. Allen brought some energy and obviously shot well from the field, but Markieff Morris had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Pacers starting big men were routinely killed on the glass against Morris and Gortat. Allen is supposed to help that, but hasn’t yet.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers
GRIII took exactly 1 shot from the field, and missed it. 0 points, 3 rebounds, 0 impact. Did finish +13, as the whole bench was in the positive.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III. C-
Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS. B-. 8 points, 8 assists on 4-9 shooting. Ellis looked like Monta Ellis again, and closed the game with the starers. Still 0-3 from deep though – that issue isn’t going away, even if he does find a bit of his old verve.. Shooting Guard
AL JEFFERSON. B. 6 points and 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Shot 50%, finished +14, didn’t look actively harmful or overmatched against the Wizards 2nd unit.. Center. Indiana Pacers
KEVIN SERAPHIN. A. 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 8-10 shooting. Couldn’t completely stop Markieff Morris, but did work on the offensive end, and contributed some solid rim protection. Pretty much the best case scenario for a Kevin Seraphin game.. Center. Indiana Pacers
B. 10 points on 40% shooting, 5 assists, +14 overall. Stuckey looked healthy, and like he’d knocked most of the rust off. If Stuckey can stay healthy be this guy, the Pacers will take that in a heartbeat.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY
Next: Myles Turner is Stepping Up as a Leader
Final Notes: Every Pacers starter finished at least -13 in +/-, and every bench guy finished at least +10. Marcin Gortat and Markieff Morris combined for 40 points and 26 rebounds, against the Pacers Myles Turner and Lavoy Allen, who combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds.