Post-Game Grades: Pacers fall to New Orleans Pelicans in makeup rain-out game
By Jacob Lane
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.
96. 69. 92. 100. Final
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.
MYLES TURNER WITH NO MERCY 😲 pic.twitter.com/XQHTtYe7sD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2018
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.
B. In his second game back in the starting lineup DC still looked like he was trying to shake off the rust, while readjusting to his teammates. He didn’t play awful, scoring 11 points and dishing out 6 assists. But he did have several costly turnovers throughout the game.. PG. Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON
Victor Oladipo led the Pacers in scoring, while grabbing 8 rebounds but it was the 4 turnovers that really stood out. He did extend his consecutive games with a steal record to 55 tonight.. SG. Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO. B+
C-. I always feel like I’m bashing Bogdanovic, so I’m going to take it easy tonight. Bogey struggled on both sides of the floor tonight, in what was a game to forget.. SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC
B-. Thad nearly had a double-double tonight, putting up 9 points and 10 rebounds. But to me, he never did anything that really stood out. Maybe that’s good? It might be bad.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG
MYLES TURNER. A. Myles Turner don’t let nobody call Myles Turner soft. A teammate recently called the big man soft (maybe Damien Wilkins, I still think it was TJ Leaf) and since then he’s been on a tear. Matched up with big man Anthony Davis, Turner went for 13 points and 10 boards.. C. Indiana Pacers
LANCE STEPHENSON. C-. Lance didn’t do much to speak of tonight, scoring just 5 points on 2-7 from the field.. SG. Indiana Pacers
Cory Joseph made several nice plays tonight on both sides of the floor, including two consecutive buckets in the third quarter. He thrives in a bench role, and should stay there for the rest of the season.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH. B+
C. Indiana Pacers. AL JEFFERSON. B. Played just 9 minutes, and went for 4 points and 4 rebounds.. This is why it’s nice to have Big Al around.
C-. 2 points on 0-0 shooting . Nice. Nothing really to see here.. SG. Indiana Pacers. GLENN ROBINSON III
Indiana Pacers. TREVOR BOOKER. A. Started the game 4-4 and lead all Pacers scorers in the first half, on his way to a 10 point __ rebound performance. F
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.