Despite an ugly first quarter, the Pacers ended their 2 game slide behind the continued resurgence of Myles Turner.
The game started off ugly, with the Los Angeles Lakers leading by as much as 12 in the first question. While the Lakers were hitting everything they threw at the rim, the Pacers were very much in danger of dropping a 3rd straight game. Facing increasingly tough playoff jockeying, the Pacers proceeded to outscore the Lakers by 20 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters on their way to a deceptively comfortable win, and lowered their magic number for the playoffs to just 3 games. The Pacers can finish no worse than .500 this season.
Facing off with a Lakers squad that had an identical record since All-Star break, the Pacers came out starting in the 2nd quarter and looked every bit the part of a playoff team beating up on a lottery-bound squad.
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In yet another big comeback win, the bigs found the rim and their wings found their jumper on the way to the Pacers running the Lakers out of the soon to be renamed Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Good: Balance. The Pacers had 5 players score 15 or more points: Myles Turner with 21, Victor Oladipo with 20, Thad Young with 18, Lance Stephenson with 16, and Darren Collison with 15.
The Bad: That first quarter though. The Pacers looked great in the 2nd/3rd/4th quarters, but the Lakers beat up on them in the first.
MVP: Myles Turner. 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. Can we stop talking about trading him now?
LVP: Bojan. 6 points on 2-9 shooting, and was the only starter with a negative +/- for the night.
X-Factor: Darren Collison. Made his return to the starting lineup with a solid 15 points and 8 assists.
Next: No, the Pacers shouldn't sign Isaiah Thomas
The Pacers face off against the New Orleans Pelicans next, in a rain delay makeup (yes, apparently those can happen in basketball). Tip off is at 8 PM on Wednesday, 3/21.