Victor Oladipo continues his reign of dominance as the Indiana Pacers ended the Cleveland Cavaliers win streak.
Yes, Victor Oladipo can keep this going. The Indiana Pacers brought the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 13-game winning streak to a close on Friday night as once again, Oladipo went ballistic.
33 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists were the finally tally for Oladipo. He didn’t have a game-winner on Friday, but he still hit a big shot late to close the on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
33 points tonight from @VicOladipo.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 9, 2017
He's now finished with 30 or more points for the 4th time this season, the most since his rookie year (5). https://t.co/0IT8jTeuZC
Is it time to accept that this is the new Victor Oladipo and that the old Victor Oladipo is dead?
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?
The Good: This was a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron, not a win over that team claiming to be the Cavaliers. It’s just a regular season game, but beating a legitimately good team is only going to bolster this young squad’s confidence.
Getting 19 fast break points are a testament to Indiana not getting away from their own game plan.
The Bad: Neither team could buy a shot in the fourth, but Cory Joseph left J.R. Smith wide open on a shot that cut the lead to three. He made up for it with free throws on the other end, but that absent-minded play nearly cost Indiana the game.
MVP: Victor Oladipo, as if there was any question.
LVP: Darren Collison’s cold streak continued, prompting Nate McMillan to get creative in the second half as he used both Lance Stephenson and Cory Joseph as ball-handlers late in the game. DC was left on the bench on the fourth and finished the game with a -10 +/-.
X-Factor: Bojan didn’t guard LeBron James well, but the fact he tries says a lot.
Instead of Thaddeus Young or another Pacer wearing themselves down for the whole game, Bojan steps in and at least gives them breaks. In crunch time we saw Young take the job over, limiting James to 7 fourth-quarter points.
Bojan’s stepping into the role that C.J. Miles once filled, and it’s things like this earn him the respect of his teammates while also putting Indiana is a better position to win. His timely 3-pointers in the second half, especially the one in the fourth, count for a lot as well.
Next: Lance makes Ntilikina dance
Indiana faces the Denver Nuggets on Sunday before preparing themselves for Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.