The Good – Everybody played their roles perfectly tonight – Pacers were clicking offensively and getting good looks almost every possession.
The Bad – Can’t complain about much. Allowed Melo to score 28 points, but still kept him to under 50% shooting/
MVP – Lance Stephenson. He was doing it all tonight – silencing multiple runs by the Knicks with huge shots, and getting into the lane and making plays for his team mates.
LVP – Andrea Bargnani. His just 3 of his 9 shots for six points in 31 minutes, while being shocking defensively and having a +/- of -23.
X-Factor – Danny Granger. Quietly provided much needed offense in limited minutes early in the game.
Defining Moment – Roy Hibbert’s block on Carmelo Anthony. Anthony spun off Paul George on the low block, went baseline and Hibbert rotated over and blocked the dunk. The Knicks had a tough time staying in this game.
Disagree? Want to discuss the grades? Get onto me on twitter at @TimWritesNBA.
| David West, PF 27 MIN | 6-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +10 |
West was good early on when the Pacers went to him on the low block. Used his big body to get good position on Bargnani and was scoring seemingly with ease. Only had 3 rebounds though, and the lowest +/- of any of the starters.
Paul George, SF
33 MIN | 8-17 FG | 5-5 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 25 PTS | +14
Big game from Paul – was scoring well, then benefited from the Knicks defense paying a lot of attention to Stephenson after he got going, and knocked down open looks. Did well guarding Melo, played physical D.
Roy Hibbert, C
27 MIN | 4-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +20
Roy had a great defensive game as usual, highlighted by the huge block on Carmelo. Was quiet offensively.
George Hill, PG
22 MIN | 1-2 FG | 1-1 FT | 3 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | +18
Very quiet game from Hill. Good defense as usual, but with Paul and Lance handling the ball for a majority of the game, his role was small.
Lance Stephenson, SG
35 MIN | 10-17 FG | 5-5 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 28 PTS | +30
Tonight was Lance at his best – playmaking, scoring, and even doing a good job guarding Melo for stretches. Multiple highlight plays, and showed us why he’s worthy of an all-star spot.
Luis Scola, PF
16 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 10 PTS | +18
Scola was a big part of the Pacers run in the second quarter, knocking down a couple of mid-range jumpshots. Didn’t play too many more significant minutes.
Chris Copeland, SF
5 MIN | 1-1 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | 0
Junk time.
Danny Granger, SF
20 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 11 PTS | +13
Granger was good, providing a spark in the second quarter then helping put the Knicks away in the 4th.
Ian Mahinmi, C
21 MIN | 1-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +8
Didn’t do anything particularly well, but allowed Indiana to rest Hibbert without losing too much defensively.
Donald Sloan, PG
4 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +2
Junk time.
C.J. Watson, PG
22 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +8
CJ played his role well as usual, coming off the bench and handling the ball for a bit while Hill and PG rested.
Orlando Johnson, SG
3 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -1
Junk time.
Rasual Butler, SG
5 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | 0
Junk time.