Post-Game Grades: Pacers fall to New Orleans Pelicans in makeup rain-out game

The Pacers knocked off the Pelicans in a rescheduled game from February that was canceled due to a leaky roof in New Orleans.

There was no flooding in Smoothie King arena tonight, which allowed for the Pacers and Pelicans to make-up the game that was supposed to take place back in February. New Orleans, playing in the second night of back-to-backs, looked like a tired team, and the Pacers did a good job of taking advantage of it through the first half. But it was a rough night shooting that led to the Pacers falling to the Pelicans, shooting 34-93 (37%) from the field and an even worse 7-22 (33%) from three. Indiana also struggled to guard both Anthony Davis & E’Twaun Moore, as the two combined to score 51 of the Pelicans 96 points.

The 12 Pelicans fans in attendance tonight were witnesses to what was potentially the dunk of the season for the Pacers. In the second quarter, Myles Turner (who’s still reminding folks he’s not soft) drove the lane and slammed it home, nearly taking the life of Pelicans forward Cheick Diallo in the process.

The Pacers and Pelicans were neck-and-neck throughout the entirety of the game, coming down to late in the fourth quarter.

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Indiana had plenty of opportunities to put the game away for good. However bad shooting, the inability to guard Anthony Davis down the stretch and a multitude of late turnovers ended up costing the Pacers the game. Anthony Davis and the Pelicans handed the Pacers their fourth loss in five games, which dropped them down to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Good: Victor Oladipo was one of the few lone bright spots for the Pacers in tonight’s game, going for 21 points and 8 rebounds, hanging a +10, while scoring 8 of the Pacers 23 points in the final quarter.

The Bad: The 4th quarter turnovers. The Pacers had 8  down the stretch of the game, basically giving the Pelicans the W. Oladipo and Collison led the team with 4 a piece.

MVP: There really was no MVP for the Pacers tonight, as just about everybody struggled at one point or another in this game. Victor Oladipo gets the nod for the aforementioned reasons.

LVP: Bogey wasn’t bad tonight, but he certainly wasn’t good. He finishes with 9 points on 4-10 shooting, posting a -9. His play has been a bummer as of late.

X-Factor: Bad shooting cost the Pacers a chance at getting their second win in a row tonight. The team combined to shoot just 37% against a team that allows 112 points per game.

Next: Chemistry issues plagued the Pacers last season

The Pacers will get another chance on Friday to move back up in the standings, as DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers come to town for the first matchup of the season. Both teams have lost four of their last five.