The Indiana Pacers grabbed another key road victory on Sunday night against the Orlando Magic. They have now defeated the Magic seven straight times, ascend to 5th place in the Eastern Conference Standings and continue to gain momentum post-All Star Break.
The Pacers have been on the wrong end of some tough late game calls this season (see Jimmy Butler), but the karma pendulum swung their way after Victor Oladipo didn’t get the foul call after getting Monta Ellis in the air and into his body on his errant three point attempt at the end. A sloppy game overall (the Pacers had 10 turnovers in the 1st quarter alone), but great to see Myles Turner continue to hit clutch shots down the stretch. You should win when you shoot 50% from the field and get 6 players to score in double figures.
The Good: Monta Ellis from 3. Myles Turner from anywhere. Removing the “closer” monkey off their back for a while.
The Bad: 21 turnovers (17 at halftime) and give credit to the swarming Magic defense early on as they consistently took up the Pacers airspace on the ball and go into the passing lanes with a fury. Frank Vogel made some nice adjustments though to get better looks in the second half and force his players to value each and every possession.
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MVP: Ian Mahinmi. Re-sign him now if you can. He kept this team afloat in the first half and played dominating interior defense alongside Myles Turner. Getting a ton of easy looks at the basket and moving extremely well in the pick n’ roll game for a guy that struggles shooting from midrange. Like it or not Larry, this big lineup is legit.
LVP: Paul George. 20 points on 19 shots and allowed Evan Fournier to outscore him (23 points), which should never happen.
X-Factor: Myles Turner. 3 more blocks tonight and should have had a 4th if not for a tough foul call late in the game denying Nikola Vucevic at the rim. Developing a clutch gene at just 19 years old hitting a pair of crucial shots late in the 4th quarter. The Pacers are now 7-3 since inserting Turner into the starting lineup.