Rodney Stuckey Goes Off For 30 Again, Beat Curry-less Warriors

30 and 30.

That’s Rodney Stuckey’s point totals from the past two games, but dropping that many on the NBA’s best team, the Golden State Warriors, was a bit more impressive than against the Philadelphia 76ers. Sure, the Warriors didn’t have Stephen Curry but they still looked like one of the league’s better teams without him. The Pacers are 7-3 in their last 10 games, not too shabby.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

The Starters didn’t have the best 1st quarter, but after recovered and closed out the game after getting plenty of help from Stuckey and the bench. Stuckey is shooting 63.6% from the field in the past two games on 27 attempts while averaging 4.5 assists as well. While Indiana might have been able to get past the 76ers without him, he was clearly needed in the Pacers victory over Golden State. Indiana is playing well on both sides of the ball with Stuckey in the game, posting a 118.7 offensive rating with him on the court, as well as a 93.4 defensive rating. With him off? The offensive rating drops to 87.3 and the defensive rating goes to 106.8.

It is only 2 games, but Indiana should be thanking him for carrying the weight, especially on a bum ankle.

Golden State Warriors

FinalRecap | Box Score

104

Indiana Pacers

David West, PF 30 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 4 PTS | -4 +/-Not a lot of points, but made up for it with 8 rebounds. None of the starters have looked that great post All-Star Break. West’s four turnovers didn’t help either. However the pass to Miles for what felt like the nail in the coffin earns him an average day.

Solomon Hill, SF 18 MIN | 2-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -3 +/-Same head as West, not a lot of production, but he had his moments in the game. All the starters can say they played OK defense after the first quarter. After the slow start, they worked for a stalemate with Golden State and took care of business in the final minutes of the game.

Roy Hibbert, C 24 MIN | 2-6 FG | 4-4 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -9 +/-None of the starters scored that much and we were reminded that Golden State plays defense almost as well as they play offense. Hibbert gets a C for protecting the rim like he usually does. He had a few plays late where he earned his keep.

George Hill, PG 30 MIN | 4-13 FG | 2-3 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | 0 +/-If George Hill didn’t his a pair of 3-pointers I’d judge him much more harshly. The average grades for the starters is mainly due to the first quarter where they looked like this could be a blow out. At least George Hill scored over 10 points.

C.J. Miles, SG 30 MIN | 5-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 1 TO | 13 PTS | -4 +/-Hitting the 3 on that beautiful possession late in the game earns him the B-. The 5 of 11 shooting is perfectly fine and knocking down a trio of 3-pointers doesn’t hurt either.

Luis Scola, PF 18 MIN | 5-8 FG | 1-2 FT | 8 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 11 PTS | +13 +/-Almost got a double-double in 18 minutes of work.

Damjan Rudez, SF 11 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 4 PTS | +11 +/-Dam-OK.

Ian Mahinmi, C 24 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-1 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | +16 +/-A very Mahinmi-like performance.

Rodney Stuckey, PG 28 MIN | 11-17 FG | 6-7 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 30 PTS | +17 +/-Another efficient game for Stuckey as he scored 30 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Only Klay Thompson had more in the game with 39. Stuckey had 5 assists in the game, making up for a stagnant starting 5.

C.J. Watson, PG 26 MIN | 4-6 FG | 3-4 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +3 +/-Tied with Stuckey for the lead in assists.

Frank Vogel
Vogel has earned every dollar in his salary this season as the Pacers have kept afloat.