Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Hang on Against The Knicks

Final. 87. 27. 92. 100

Indiana Pacers continue to lead the NBA in kindness by attempting to give another game away to a bad team, but hang on to win.

For a very special game at Madison Square Garden, we decided to have two different takes on Post-Game Grades to give an even deeper assessment of the new-collapse that was averted. Check the other perspective here.

The Good: The 2nd quarter. The Pacers raced out to a 36-18 quarter as the all bench lineup (Ty Lawson, Rodney Stuckey, C.J. Miles, Solomon Hill, and Myles Turner) cleaned the Knicks’ clocks.

The Bad: The 2nd half. The Pacers yet again gave away a late lead to an inferior team. They (and please, stop me if you’ve heard this before) were careless with the ball, uninspired on defense and forgot how to score.

MVP: Rodney Stuckey. Great to see Stuckey healthy and playing off the ball again. 17 points on 9 shots, 5-5 from the line.

LVP: Ian Mahinmi. Box score looks great – 10 points, 8 rebounds, 66% from the line – but he was a team low -14 in +/-, and didn’t look effective on either end. Way too many offensive rebounds for the Knicks as well.

X-Factor: Ty Lawson. Only shot 1-7, but his make was a buzzer beater at the end of the 3rd to stem the tide, and his passing and penetrating led the Pacers 2nd quarter surge.

A. 20 and 9 on 47% shooting. The ankle injury is becoming concerning, as he missed time in this game due to it. He said after the game that it had been sore all week and this week had been a struggle for him. Pacers need him at or near 100% to have any chance in the playoffs.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. PAUL GEORGE

D. 7 points and 6 rebounds on 18% shooting. Hit a huge 3 in the 4th, and 2 big free throws.<span style=. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS

Indiana Pacers. GEORGE HILL. F. 10 points on 33% shooting with 0 assists. Not great, Bob. Continued his trend of splitting critical free throws in the end game.. Point Guard

Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. B+. 12 points and 6 rebounds, with an assist, a steal, and a block. Feasted on the 2nd unit, closed with the starters.. Center

C. 10 points and 8 rebounds would’ve been above and beyond what I expected of Ian Mahinmi, the starting center. Now, this was a fairly bad game for him. Hit 2 big free throws in winning time.. Center. Indiana Pacers. IAN MAHINMI

This Rodney Stuckey is worth every penny of what the Pacers pay him, and is crucial to any playoff success the Pacers hope to find. 17 points on 9 shots, played solid D.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers. RODNEY STUCKEY. A

C.J. MILES. B+. 10 points, 50% from the field and 40% from deep. Exactly what the Pacers need from him.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers

D+. Started in place of Myles Turner for the 2nd straight game, did absolutely nothing to note for the 2nd straight game. Probably played solid team defense, but was nearly unnoticeable on the floor.. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN

SOLOMON HILL. B. Solomon Hill needs to share whatever energy drink he consumes before the game with the rest of the Pacers. Team high +18 despite relatively nondescript looking box score.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers

TY LAWSON. B-. Couldn’t get a shot to fall outside of a desperation toss to beat the buzzer in the 3rd (off of getting his shot blocked), but 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and +11 in 18 minutes help the Pacers greatly. He appears to have injected a crucial bit of life into the Pacers 2nd unit.. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers

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