Grades: Pacers defeat Knicks in solid team performance

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Is Hicks versus Knicks even a rivalry any more? Not really, because the Indiana Pacers always seem to beat the Knicks.

The Indiana Pacers continued to roll, winning their 7th game in a row against the New York Knicks. There were 11 lead changes throughout the game, but it never really felt close as the Pacers won by double digits.

99. 27. 110. 100. Final

The Pacers just keep on rolling. This is only their 4th seven-game win streak since Reggie Miller was a member of the team. This has been an incredible run of play for the team, and don’t look now, but it has them up to 2nd place in the Eastern Conference (tied with Milwaukee).

The team looked solid in this one. Everyone who played had at least an okay game, and some guys had really good games (more on that later). With Tyreke Evans out with an injury, it was unknown what the rotation would look like, but Head Coach Nate McMillan put together a solid rotation that allowed the team to play well.

And of course, it wouldn’t be basketball without some awesome plays. Like this double block sequence from Myles Turner:

This might only be a highlight for me, but Domantas Sabonis put in a layup with his right hand, something he rarely does. That is worth highlighting:

So, what happened?

Victor Oladipo is back, Y’all

Victor Oladipo was playing in his first two games back from injury, but he wasn’t really playing if you know what I mean. He did fine, but he wasn’t playing like himself. But tonight, he finally put together a true Oladipo performance.

26 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. He looked like last years All-NBA level player in this game. He was sensational.

Ponytail Myles continues to be great

This was Myles Turner’s fourth game since he started the ponytail look. But this time, he went the Samurai route:

Turner dropped in his third 20 point game since changing his hairdo. Something has clicked for him recently, and he’s become much more effective on the offensive end of the floor. It has been fantastic to watch.

Sabonis finally missed a shot against the Knicks

Remember the first Pacers-Knicks game? When Sabonis went 12/12 and dropped 30 points? Well, it looked like he was headed for another no-miss performance tonight…

And then he missed a shot. After 3 quarters of perfect shooting, he missed in the fourth quarter, his first shooting error against New York all season. The Knicks have to be relieved to finally see a miss.

Individual performances? Let’s talk about them. Let’s do some player grades:

DARREN COLLISON. C -. Collison had 5 fouls in just 16 minutes, preventing him from playing much in this one. He was okay when he did play, but he was a -7. Not a great game for him.. PG. Indiana Pacers

A +. 26/8/7/5. Welcome back to our lives, All-star guard Victor Oladipo.. SG. Indiana Pacers. VICTOR OLADIPO

BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. C +. Bojan’s shot wasn’t falling (1/5 from three), but he finished with 12 points and was a team-high +13. He always has a positive impact on the offense.. SF. Indiana Pacers

10 points and 6 rebounds for Thad, who was solid. He wasn’t as good as he was in the previous two games, but those two good numbers plus holding Noah Vonleh to 3/10 shooting accumulated in a solid game for the glue guy.. PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG. B

A -. Ponytail Myles is a monster, plain and simple. 24 points and 6 rebounds combined with some great paint defense made for a fantastic game for Turner. If Enes Kanter didn’t kill him on the glass, Turner would have gotten an A+.. C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER

13 points and 12 rebounds, another double-double for Domas. He has been crushing it this year. 4 fouls were not great, but Sabonis was excellent off the bench otherwise.. C. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. A -

B. CoJo’s energy is contagious, 6 points aren’t much, but 5 rebounds and 5 assists is great for a guard. He was +12 and played solid defense on Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke. He was good.. PG. Indiana Pacers. CORY JOSEPH

B. 3/5 from deep, 9 points, +4. That is all you can ask of McDermott.. SF. Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT

PG. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY. C +. 2/8 shooting, 1 rebound, and no assists. Pretty meh performance from Holiday, who played like a rookie while filling in for Tyreke Evans.

Next. Indiana Pacers First Trimester Awards. dark

The Pacers next face the Cavs on Tuesday, who they beat earlier in the season. Hopefully, the can get a similar result at home.