Indiana Pacers wave the tablecloth a bit too much at the Bulls, but escape intact
By William Furr
The Indiana Pacers raced off to a hot start and set the table for a convincing victory over the bottom-feeding Chicago Bulls.
After the first quarter, this game was just ugly. Neither team looked particularly *good*, and it wasn’t always the most entertaining brand of basketball. However, the Indiana Pacers managed to clench victory from the jaws of embarrassing defeat behind the unbelievably efficient scoring of Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison, and the 7 blocks by Myles Turner.
The 2nd unit collectively looked bad throughout the night, and the offense crashed and burned when both Bogdanovic and Collison were off the floor. No one else seemed to be able to find any rhythm on offense; the non-Bogey/DC Pacers combined to shoot 36% from the field. However, everyone (besides McDermott) seemed more or less locked in on defense, and the Pacers had just enough to run away with things late in the game.
96. 24. 105. 100. Final
Nothing’s ever easy
The Pacers came out hot and had a 33-17 lead early on. Darren Collison was cooking, the defense was humming, and the team looked like it was ready to boot another losing team out of the Fieldhouse.
From that moment forward, the Bulls slowly bled the Pacers out point by point, tying the game several times in the 2nd half. The Pacers mostly responded the right way each time the Bulls pressured, but you have to hope they can take care of business, even with Domas Sabonis missing another game.
T.J. Leaf needs more minutes (no, really)
Leaf has had a semi-stable spot in the rotation, typically getting 5-10 minutes in the first half and then not playing in the second. Leaf played 5 minutes tonight and finished with 4 points and 5 rebounds, including 2 on the offensive end.
He’s turning into a real asset on the offensive glass and is really fighting to push his way into the big man triumvirate of Myles Turner/Thad Young/Domas Sabonis.
Bojan Bogdanovic is unfazed by your physical attacks
Bojan appeared to jam or sprain a finger in the first half and proceeded to make a layup within a minute. Bojan took a shot to a very personal area and proceeded to bomb away and lead the Pacers in scoring on the evening.
Bogdanovic came to the Pacers as a knockdown shooter; if he leaves after this year, he’ll leave as a multifaceted offensive weapon capable of dropping 20 a night.
Indiana Pacers. DARREN COLLISON. A-. 22 points on 7-10 shooting. DC was cold. blooded. The offense really fell apart whenever Cory Joseph subbed in for him, and that says a lot about what DC brought to the table tonight. Multiple stepback 3’s at multiple big moments.. PG
Matthews finished with 10 points and 4 assists on just 4-10 from the field and 2-8 from deep. While misfiring on offense, Wes had the unenviable task of matching up with Zach Lavine and did well putting the clamps on him for the most part.. SG. Indiana Pacers. WESLEY MATTHEWS. B-
SF. Indiana Pacers. BOJAN BOGDANOVIC. A. 27 points on 14 shots, including 4-5 from deep. Getting dinged up multiple times throughout the night didn’t even slow Bogey down. It’s a shame he didn’t get to go own the 3 point shootout over the all-star weekend
PF. Indiana Pacers. THADDEUS YOUNG. B-. 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Young started off the game by making a corner 3 and got a very similar look to start the 2nd half that didn’t fall. Like Turner, Young struggled mightily from the field but had a very good all-around game.
B-. 10 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high 7 (!!!) blocks for Turner tonight. It’s his second 6+ block game against the Bulls this year. Myles struggled to put the ball in the bucket, going just 3-11 from the field while Robin Lopez had a field day, going off for 20 points on 9-18 shooting. The blocks and rebounds are nice, but the Pacers need much more from Turner if they want to cling to the 3 seed for the last month of the year.. C. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
C+. 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 totally ruined beer for KOQ tonight. O’Quinn quickly got into foul trouble early on but played some good defense in the 2nd half blocking a 3 and spiking a loose ball directly into an innocent fan’s innocent beer.. C. Indiana Pacers. KYLE O'QUINN
Indiana Pacers. TYREKE EVANS. C. 8 points, 2 rebounds and an assist on just 3-9 shooting. Had a nice finish around the bucket, but really contributed very little. His presence is helpful in of itself though, and the 2nd unit badly needs him as it misses Domas Sabonis.. SG
CORY JOSEPH. D. 6 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. CoJo really had an ugly game on offense. He was okay on Lavine, but Lavine is a very good scorer and a good bit bigger, and he was able to shoot over the top of Joseph a few times. Not a memorable night.. PG. Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers. DOUG MCDERMOTT. D+. 4 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal in 13 minutes, but McBuckets looked really bad on defense and isn’t adding much when he’s not shooting 3’s.. SF
TEEEEEJJJ! Leaf has been making the most of his limited (but seemingly solidified) place in the Pacers bigs rotation. Leaf put up 4 points and 5 rebounds in just 5 minutes of action. He does get knocked a half grade for shaving off the swashbuckling mustache/goatee combination though.. PF. Indiana Pacers. TJ LEAF. B
Next. Darren Collison has earned more credit than he gets. dark
The Pacers next game is Thursday at the Milwaukee against the first place Bucks.