In a game of runs, the Indiana Pacers were able to hold off a fairly unimpressive Utah in the second game of a back-to-back.
Time for grades! Tonight marked the second night of a five-game Indiana Pacers road trip, as well as the second night of a back to back. Last night proved to not be very difficult for Indiana, as they cruised to a solid win over the Suns. Tonight was not much different.
The Pacers came out of the gates looking to capitalize on last night’s win. The first quarter was really defined by two things; Sabonis’s rebounding, and a wild shot by Cory Joseph to end the quarter.
By the end of the first quarter, it already looked like it was the Pacers game to lose, as they led 31-21. However, Utah’s 14-0 run halfway through the second quarter showed that maybe Utah had come to play. That notion was fairly short-lived, as the Pacers immediately went on a 12-0 run of there own towards the end of the second quarter.
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The second half was a little closer. Utah went on a 9-0 run to start the half, which of course, the Pacers responded with their own 7-0 run. The Pacers only outscored the Jazz by four in the second half, but Indiana shot 58.8% from the field, as opposed to Utah’s 43.9%.
All in all, it looked like Indiana’s from the get-go.
The Good: The Pacers did a solid job of moving the ball around the floor tonight. Collison and Oladipo finished with 6 assists apiece, and as a team, the Pacers more than doubled the Utah Jazz’s assist total of 11, with 26.
The Bad: Lance Stephenson was certainly off his game. After finishing last night with a +/- of 11, he was worst on the Pacers tonight with a -10. He finished with 4 points and 2 assists while playing almost 20 minutes.
MVP: Victor Oladipo did what Victor Oladipo tends to do. He got the whole team involved offensively and lead the game with 28 points of his own.
LVP: Joe Ingles started, played 20 minutes, took one shot, and finished with zero points, one assist, and one rebound. Yikes.
X-Factor: In 17 minutes, Al Jefferson came in and posted 6 points, 1 assist, and a game-high 10 rebounds. Not too shabby for ol’ Big Al. Also, Thad Young showed his scoring ability, scoring 17 points and blocking 2 shots.
Grades:
Next: Myles Turner "week to week" with elbow injury
For their next game, the Pacers head to Portland this Thursday to take on Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers.