Monta Ellis once again got a bit of revenge against his former team as the Indiana Pacers held the lead most of the way in their win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Good: The Indiana Pacers pretty much led the game wire-to-wire with the exception of two short periods in the second quarter. Perhaps more importantly for Indiana, they didn’t blow a double-digit lead and held off Dallas on its own floor. The Mavericks made their run in the fourth, but the Pacers never surrendered the lead.
The Bad: Allowing the Mavericks to shoot 48.2% from the field isn’t a recipe for success, and it is above the 44.1% the usually allow, but this is more nit-picking that a real issue. Especially in the context of the game, this isn’t such a big deal, but we can’t be all sunshine and happiness here either.
MVP: It was a rather even-keeled effort by the Indiana Pacers as seven of their 10 players were in double-digits, but Paul George had 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals while he shot 37.5% from both the field and from the 3-point line.
LVP: Can’t really say any of the Pacers earned this today. C.J. Miles and Lavoy Allen only had 5 points combined, but they didn’t play significant minutes either. It was a good day for Indiana, so no reason to complain.
X-Factor: Monta Ellis for stepping up once again against the Mavericks. Not that he hasn’t been playing well, but always nice to see someone get some “revenge” on their former team, the second time he’s done it this season. Ellis had 17 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds while shooting 53.8% from the field.
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?
We can once again thank DeAndre Jordan for the circumstances that helped lead Monta to Indiana.
Another X-Factor for the Pacers was their free throw shooting. Not only did they go 27 of 29 from the foul line, but their aggressiveness paid off with a 29-18 advantage in attempts compared to the Mavericks.
We often complain about how Paul George (and most the Pacers, really) aren’t always forcing the issue in the paint, but they took six more free throws than they usually do. Throw on a 16-8 advantage on second-chance points, and you’re getting the aggression needed by the Pacers.