Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Grind Out Win Over Phoenix Suns
By Jay Neal
Indiana Pacers use big 4th quarter to pull away from the Phoenix Suns, even their record at 2-2 on the West Coast road trip.
The Good: Aggressiveness. The Indiana Pacers relentlessly attacked the paint all night, which led to 41 free throw attempts and 31 fouls called against the Phoenix Suns. Indiana has had 35 or more free throw attempts in each of the last four games.
Also, the Pacers out-rebounded the Suns 49-40, including three huge offensive rebounds in the last four minutes to effectively seal the game.
The Bad: Turnovers. It’s been a problem at times this year, but the Pacers were utterly careless with the ball in the first half with 12 turnovers.
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?
They took better care of the ball after the break, but 18 turnovers is too many on most nights.
MVP: Paul George. The superstar picked his spots most of the night, but showed up when his team needed him most. He scored. He assisted. He rebounded. He played shutdown defense. Basically, he did PG-13 stuff.
LVP: Monta Ellis. He never got into the flow of the game and played his usual brand of below average defense. Not a great combination.
X-Factor: Bench production. Rodney Stuckey and Al Jefferson both scored in double figures. Indiana’s bench has one of the worst point differentials in the league, but the two vets gave the Pacers much needed boost to keep the team in the game.