Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Get Throttled By Detroit Pistons

The Indiana Pacers took a hard loss, 118-96, to the Detroit Pistons to fall to 13-9 on the year, 1-4 in the last five games.

The Detroit Pistons took a 10-point lead into halftime, and that was about the last we saw of the Pacers chances tonight at the Palace. Despite shooting well, the Pistons outpowered Indiana and were crafty on the offensive end led by Reggie Jackson and Ersan Ilyasova. The Pacers turned the ball over 16 amount of times which allowed Detroit to capitalize on points off the turnover and sunk the ship on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Good: The Pacers shot the ball very well, but their shot selection was crucial. Ignoring Paul George‘s cold night, Indiana finished shooting at 50% and were up to 58% in the third quarter when trying to mount the comeback. George Hill deserves special praise because Sisqo was pretty hot for awhile, ending on 14 points from 7/12 shooting, but was at one point 6/7 the field.

The Bad: If it is boiled down to one thing, points allowed off turnovers was a major blow. Any night Paul George is cold will require Indiana stepping up offensively, but any night Indiana lets up 100 points with one quarter to play is one they will likely lose. After emphasizing defense following one of the worst statistical stretches in the Frank Vogel era, it all went out the window.

MVP: Blonde George Hill is clearly the best George Hill, demonstrated again by his performance tonight. He led the Pacers in both points (14) and rebounds (8) and facilitated the offense while trying to contain Reggie Jackson on the other end of the floor. Additionally, of the 16 turnovers committed by Indiana, the hometown hero was not responsible for a single one.

Plus, George Hill dunk!

LVP: Unfortunately, tonight it belongs to Paul George. He finished with 13 points on 4/16 shooting but tried to create far too much on the offensive end, leading to turnovers, missed baskets, and some poor decision-making. George added six boards to his tally and managed 5/7 from the line, but his four turnovers were a game high. Despite playing 34 minutes, it felt like George struggled to really make an impact.

X-Factor: Rodney Stuckey was again big for Indiana during another return trip to Detroit for the former Piston. He reached double figures with ten points and had a few boards and assists to go along. The free agent signing was fairly efficient, hitting 5/8 from the floor and only needed 23 minutes to do so.