The final score showed at 14-point margin of victory, but the Indiana Pacers needed big shots from Rodney Stuckey and Paul George gave their team the 102-88 win.
The Good: The bench stepped up as Jordan Hill (12 points), Chase Budinger (11), Lavoy Allen (8), and Rodney Stuckey (7) helped the Indiana Pacers snap a three-game losing skid. The starters did well enough, but it is never a bad thing to see the reserves coming in and picking up some slack.
The Bad: The Pacers are back to reality when it comes to 3-point shooting .Shooting 34.6% tonight may be the norm now, but seeing what their long-range game did for them in November (going 11-2), Pacers fans might be concerned that the sharpshooting isn’t coming back. When the month started the Pacers were shooting 40% from deep, but since December started they’ve shot 34.1%.
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MVP: We may still be waiting for a true Monta Ellis explosion, but 22 points led Indiana and 6 rebounds and 3 assists aren’t bad either. He’s been showing up every night and quietly being the team’s second-best player behind Paul George. I’ve said it before, but for all the concerns about selfishness or dominating the ball, he’s been anything but that this season in Indiana.
LVP: No one really tonight. Even though Glenn Robinson III didn’t have any points, he had 2 rebounds in the four minutes he played. C.J. Miles struggled to score but made defensive plays make up for it. He limited himself to eight shots as he recognized Saturday night wasn’t going to be a good one shooting for him. No reason to give out an LVP tonight.
X-Factor: Rodney Stuckey looked like he was done after he injured his ankle early in the first half. But that didn’t stop him from knocking down a 3-pointer with 2;55 to close the door on the Timberwolves.