Post-Game Grades: Pacers beat Bucks and pull ahead in potential tiebreaker situations
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers went on a huge run in the 3rd quarter, but they had to survive a late push from the Milwaukee Bucks to earn the win.
The win wasn’t pretty, but that doesn’t change the fact the Indiana Pacers now hold a tiebreaker over the Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana leads the season series 2-1, but even with one game left between the two, the Bucks can’t make up the gap in Central Division wins.
103. 100. Final. 96. 89
You might remember from last season how important those tiebreakers were in deciding the Eastern Conference seeding. With fewer than four games separating the third and eighth seeds in the East right now, tiebreakers are likely to factor in again this season.
If Indiana didn’t drop the previous two games to two of the NBA’s worst teams, they would have been in 3rd place right now. A missed opportunity, to say the least.
The Good: The Pacers led by as much as 17 in the fourth quarter, but that lead was taken down to five with 5 minutes left to play. Why is this in the good category then? The initial push in the third and early fourth quarter put Indiana ahead and gave them room for mistakes.
Runs happen, and Indiana survived a rally from their hosts. Maybe it isn’t the best thing about the game, but weathering the storm is part of the game. Once you take out Milwaukee’s mid-quarter run, the fourth quarter was all but in Indiana’s favor.
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The Bad: There were five — I repeat — five technical fouls handed out in the first quarter. Thaddeus Young picked up the first, but a mix of mouthing and physical play led to a double-technical call on Lance Stephenson and Sterling Brown while Eric Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo earned theirs less than a minute later.
The game returned to normalcy, but the whistles sounding in the first quarter made it seem like the game was destined for a Donnybrook.
MVP: Oladipo’s 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block were the best stat line of any Pacer, so he might as well earn the award. But considering how poorly his 3-point shooting has been lately, a 2 of 6 performance from deep and 9 of 19 (47.4%) from the field feel like progress.
LVP: If anyone was picked, it would be Domantas Sabonis, but his mediocre stat line of 6 points and 9 rebounds conceals the impact he actually had on the game. He did have some of Indiana’s worst advanced numbers, but he served his purpose.
X-Factor: Bojan Bogdanovic’s shooting from the field wasn’t great at 1 of 4, but he managed to go to the foul line 13 times, making 12 of his shots. With only one field goal, he was the third-leading scorer for the Pacers with 14 points.
A. Way too early to say he is out of his shooting slump as it’s only the second time in eight games that he knocked down a third of his 3-pointers, but hey, progress.. SG. Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO
Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. B. His 14 points came mostly from the foul line, but when he wasn’t getting fouled he grabbed four rebounds and handed out four assists.. SF
THADDEUS YOUNG. A. 10 points and 8 rebounds are fine enough, but his defense limited Antetokounmpo down the stretch. Young wasn’t on him the whole game as Giannis scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but when it mattered, Young removed the Greek Freak from the equation.<p>Giannis does many things well, but Young was physical enough with him and fast enough to keep up.</p>. PF. Indiana Pacers
C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER. B-. Just short of a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds, but he can take refuge in his two blocks.
C+. Foul trouble took him out of the game at times and then for good when he picked up his sixth foul, but he clearly made an impact beyond 6 points and 9 rebounds. His defense was subpar, but he arguably was the team’s best rebounder when he was on the floor.. C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS
C. Lance Stephenson’s 16 points were the second most, but a 7 of 17 (41.2%) journey to get there undercuts it. His emotions got in the way early but overall he managed to salvage an acceptable performance.. SG. Indiana Pacers. LANCE STEPHENSON
PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. B+. 12 points on 5 of 11 (45.5%) shooting — but 2 of 4 from deep — along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists balanced out his defensive contributions. It was another one of those solid but under the radar games for Joseph, but he made plays and got in the way of Antetokounmpo at least once to stop a basket.
Only played 4 minutes and despite not scoring, wasn’t the usual defensive issue he has been.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF. C
C+. Limited to only a few minutes on the floor but made his shots count. Young was 2 of 3 (66.7%) from the field, including a 3-pointer.. PG. Indiana Pacers. JOE YOUNG
C+. Looks like a guy who hasn’t played all season at times, but the Pacers needed his defense to power their 4th quarter surge. Four points and two rebounds.. SG. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
Next: 8p9s Mailbag: We have Lance GIFs
The Pacers play the Washington Wizards on Sunday at 6 p.m.