Domantas Sabonis kept the Indiana Pacers in the game, but it was Victor Oladipo (and Thaddeus Young) that buried the New York Knicks.
It took a nearly perfect game from Domantas Sabonis (shooting, at least) to keep the Indiana Pacers in the game, but it was Victor Oladipo who sealed the deal in a win over the New York Knicks.
After scoring only five points in the first half, Oladipo rallied for 19 more in the second, but none were more important than the two 3-pointers he hit late that mortally wounded and then finished off the Knicks.
But the second one couldn’t have happened without Thaddeus Young.
Bojan Bogdanovic uncharacteristically air-balled a 3-point shot with 27 seconds remaining, but Young leapt out of bounds to save the ball and then found Oladipo for the dagger.
Maybe Indiana holds on without this Victor Oladipo 3-pointer, but Thaddeus Young saved the day and made sure that wasn’t a question that got answered.pic.twitter.com/HOD6V5hqE3
— 8 Points, 9 Seconds (@8pts9secs) November 1, 2018
When the Pacers are jockeying for playoff position late in the season, wins like this can end up determining home-court advantage. They aren’t pretty, but a win is still a win. The Pacers shouldn’t have looked dead for most of the game, but at least they left with a better record than what they came in with.
The Good: Domantas Sabonis was perfect from the field in his 30 point performance. He shot 12 of 12 from the field and 6 of 7 from the foul line and grabbed nine rebounds.
The Bad: Indiana probably shouldn’t let this plucky young Knicks team stick around for as long as they did. Sure, New York’s shots were falling (7 of 15 from range) but the rest of the bench needs to find ways to score. Outside of Sabonis, the bench was 6 of 18 shooting and only scored three points.
The starters played well enough, but this could have been a loss similar to the one against the Portland Trail Blazers if Domas hadn’t been on fire.
MVP: While he fouled out and had 5 turnovers, Sabonis’ play off the bench huge. The starters performance was passable and spotted with clutch plays, but it’s hard to see anyone else having the same singular impact that Domas did.
LVP: The Tyreke Evans Redemption Tour with 2 of 8 shooting and finished the game with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Not terrible, but Evans needs to carry the bench night in and night out.
X-Factor: Thaddeus Young’s 13 points,10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and game-saving assist were impressive enough, but 5 steals (and 9 deflections) will get overlooked thanks to Oladipo and Sabonis stealing the show.
The Pacers remain on the road and visit the Chicago Bulls on Friday. The game tips off a 8 p.m.