The Indiana Pacers took care of business and beat the Philadelphia 76ers. Now they need a little help to officially punch their playoff ticket.
The Good: A win all but puts the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. They still need a Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat loss, but they are almost there. A blowout would have been more comfortable, but this win was big towards putting Indiana in the postseason.
Nothing will come easy this season.
The Bad: Despite a fast start, the Pacers let the Philadelphia 76ers hang around longer than needed. It wasn’t so much that Indiana was playing badly, but they never clamped down like they did in the first quarter.
Also, Paul George getting ejected after his run-ins with Gerald Henderson wasn’t great. PG shouldn’t have reacted, but he’s also human. Judge him for getting tossed, but also let’s not act like we thought the 76ers were going to win at that point either.
MVP: Thaddeus Young had his best game since injuring his wrist, a good sign for the Pacers going into the playoffs. If they are going to make some noise, a healthy Thad is a big part of it.
LVP: Gerald Henderson is a bum.
X-Factor: Former Fort Wayne Mad Ant star Alex Poythress went 5 of 7 from the 3-point line. If he’s not lighting things up for the 76ers, then maybe this isn’t a “close” game.