The Indiana Pacers had endured yet another 4th quarter letdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday Night and were in desperate need of some victory medicine. The prescription? The Brooklyn Nets.
The Pacers hadn’t played a game on the road since January 23rd, but it was smooth sailing in Brooklyn as the team shot 50% from the field and coasted down the stretch. The bench went off for 58 points and the team basically swept every statistical category tonight. It’s a much easier task to close out against a team like the Nets, but it has to feel good to rest easy in the last few minutes with a comfortable lead.
The Good: Everyone contributed a little something with 5 players scoring in double figures and the team nabbing 11 steals overall. Great ball movement on offense and the help-side defense ultimately allowed the Pacers to take a big lead early and never relinquish it.
Data curated by PointAfter
The Bad: Not a great sign for the defense when Brooklyn puts up 100 points (including a 34-point 3rd quarter). Fouled Brook Lopez one too many times, but it’s hard to play him straight up with all of his awkwardness in the paint.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
MVP: CJ Miles. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen 3J in the MVP column. Here’s hoping he finally found his stroke for good and can rain down three’s all month just as he did in his glorious stretch in November.
LVP: Myles Turner. Struggled guarding Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young while missing a lot of bunnies at the rim.
X-Factor: Lavoy Allen. He’s getting a lot more comfortable in his role off the bench. Certainly didn’t think he was capable of throwing down the monster dunk he dropped in the 4th quarter.