Post-Game Grades: Indiana Pacers Tease The Timberwolves, But Hang On To Win
By William Furr
100. Final. 103. 86. 109
The Indiana Pacers managed to weather the Timberwolves furious comeback and hung on behind a massive game from Paul George.
The Good: The “Big 3” of Teague, PG, and Turner carried the Pacers on offense. The Wolves just couldn’t figure out how to contain all 3 of them at the same time, and the Pacers took turns attacking naturally.
All three took over 10 shots and made over 50% of them.
The Bad: 16 bench points and 8 of those were from Al Jefferson. Aaron Brooks and Monta Ellis couldn’t do anything, and GRob’s only real contributions came on jumpers off broken plays/loose balls.
MVP: Paul George. Tortured Andrew Wiggins the same way he toyed with DeMar DeRozan in last year’s playoffs. His step back jumper was undefendable.
LVP: I swear I’m not intentionally picking on Monta, but it’s got to be Monta Ellis. No points or assists on 6 shots.
X-Factor: Jeff Teague. Seems lately to take over at least once a game and will the team to 8-10 points when they’re struggling, and definitely did that tonight.
PAUL GEORGE. A. 32 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 12-22 shooting, 3-4 from three. Andrew Wiggins couldn’t even begin to guard him, and PG abused that matchup all night. Played like last year’s playoff Paul George. The buzzer beating 3 to end the first half was pretty, and he stole a move from Jeff Teague to work his way to 3 free throws.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers
JEFF TEAGUE. A-. 20 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists, 7-13 shooting and 3-5 from deep. Teague had a big stretch where he was nearly unstoppable, and the steal/exaggerate foul/wink at Zach Levine sequence was outstanding. 6 turnovers is way too many though<br />. Point Guard. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. A-. 23 points on 10-14 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks. Turner had a really, really good game on the offensive end, and was solid on D. He still need to find a few more rebounds throughout the game, but he played a phenomenal game otherwise. Center
Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG. B+. 9 points on 4-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 steals. Started off shooting terribly, but went hard at KAT on defense, and was active on help D as well.
A. Hit maybe the biggest shot in the game, a well defended 3 while Timberwolves were surging. The Pacers probably don’t win this game without that shot. Hit 3 threes, shot 3-5 overall, had 6 rebounds from the shooting guard spot, and didn’t turn it over. That’s exactly what’s needed from that last spot in the starting lineup.. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. C.J. MILES
B-. 6 points, 2-2 shooting, 2-2 from the line. Didn’t do a ton, but hit 2 big midrange jumpers to salvage bad possessions in a row, at a critical juncture no less.. Small Forward. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
D-. 0 points, 1 rebounds. 0-6 shooting. Yikes. Have to hope that this is a slump, and not a real decline in ability. Shooting Guard. Indiana Pacers. MONTA ELLIS
Center. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON. B. 8 points on 4-6 shooting, 6 rebounds. The Timberwolves brought a double team every time he looked at the ball, but he still managed to have a solid overall night. Did finish at -7
Indiana Pacers. AARON BROOKS. C. 0 points, 0 assists, 3 rebounds. -1 on the night, did nothing at all. Unsurprisingly can’t guard Zach Levine. Point Guard
B. With Kevin Seraphin out, Lavoy made his (sort of) triumphant return to the rotation. 2 points and 5 boards in 17 minutes, and +6. He was the only reserve with a positive +/-. Power Forward. Indiana Pacers. LAVOY ALLEN