Post-Game Grades: Darren Collison scores 30 as Pacers beat Grizzlies

Darren Collison dropped 30 points as the Indiana Pacers survive a comeback attempt from the Memphis Grizzlies, winning 116-113.

The Indiana Pacers followed a familiar formula: Take a big lead in the first half, slowly watch it dwindle in the second half.

But on Wednesday night they held on and beat the Grizzlies 116-113 in Memphis for the first time in five seasons thanks in a large part to Darren Collison. Collison scored 30 points on 61.5% shooting (including 2 of 4 from deep) and carried Indiana in the win. He also had 8 assists.

When things were looking their worst, Myles Turner stepped up as well. Memphis looked to close the gap to two with under a minute left, but Brandan Wright’s attempt was swatted away by Turner and eventually gathered by the Pacers to keep the score at 114-110.

The defensive moments like this remind us that Myles Turner’s value goes well beyond the stat sheet. His 10 points and 5 rebounds will soon be forgotten, but even his 3 blocks don’t properly illuminate his contributions.

The Pacers will likely lose more of these close games than not — the Zerg Rush offense is fun but isn’t always sustainable — but tonight the showed grit and ground one out on the road.

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The Good: Someone other the Victor Oladipo took charge. Impressively, Collison didn’t so much take over — his usage rate tied his season high of 21.6% — as much as he just more possessions end if foul shots as he was 12 of 12 on the night. He matched a season high in field goals attempted (13) while setting a season high with 8 made.

Collison’s role has mostly been as a distributor this season, but on Wednesday he took matters into his own hands, and rightly so.

The Bad: The Pacers nearly blew another big lead. They never trailed in the game and led by as much as 17, but things got within four points in the fourth quarter. These may be growing pains, but they’re still a problem.

MVP: Collison got hot early and scored 20 points in the first half. Things cooled off in the second half but he led the team in points and rebounds. His final basket came with under two minutes left and gave Indiana just enough breathing room to survive

X-Factor: Oladipo wasn’t the tip of the spear, but he wasn’t passive either. Oladipo’s 21 points didn’t come on the fast break or in the paint like he normal, but he made his impact without having the ball in his hands as much. A pair of 3-pointers combined with a so-so 40% shooting night were enough for the Pacers to win.