The Phoenix Suns came to Indiana seeking some midwestern hospitality but found only a beatdown at the hands of the Victor Oladipo and the Pacers.
The Pacers led by as much as 38 on their way to a rollicking victory over the Suns. The Suns were made to look like G-League fodder for much of the game before making a huge run in the 4th to make the loss more respectable.
Joe Young’s first NBA start led to a victory for the Indiana Pacers. With Darren Collison missing the game for personal reasons, Nate chose to keep the 2nd unit together and promote Joey Buckets to the starting lineup. Young responded by being one of 3 Pacers with multiple steals, as the blue and gold turned the Suns over and over again in the first half.
Indiana cruised to a dominant 3.5 quarters before watching a 38 point 4th quarter lead evaporate with the deep reserves in the game. The did have to eventually put the starters back in the game, but Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis served as calming influences in wrapping up the victory later.
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- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
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The Good: The Pacers shot 57% from the field, had 32 assists and collected 11 steals – most of which came in a breakneck first quarter that saw the Pacers put the clamps down on the Suns and get out in the fast break off multiple live ball turnovers.
The Bad: The 4th quarter. The squad got cooked in the 4th to the tune of 36-17, but still won comfortably. The Pacers wound up with a lack of scoring prowess and shooting ability out there as the young Suns made a spirited run, but the Pacers finished out just fine.
MVP: Thad Young. Thad finished with 22 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. and was vital in bludgeoning the careless Suns early on.
LVP: T.J. Warren. Finished with 10 points and a spectacular +/- of -30 for Phoenix.
X-Factor: The game of basketball. Really seemed like Indiana’s understanding of it provided an advantage when faced with Phoenix’s utter lack of it.
Next: Physicality is a state of mind for Domantas Sabonis
The team plays next against the reeling Cleveland LeBrons on Friday, 1/26 at 7:30 PM.