Indiana Pacers: Player grades from 120-112 loss to Chicago
What started as a slugfest turned into one of the more thrilling finishes of the season for the Indiana Pacers but they struggled to rebound and finish in overtime, ultimately dropping the game 120-112.
Chicago hit multiple big shots in the extra period, and former Pacer Thaddeus Young hurt the blue-and-gold throughout overtime on the glass. Zach LaVine had 30 points and hit a massive three in regulation to give Chicago a 104-103 lead, but missed a free throw late, giving Malcolm Brogdon a chance to send the game to OT.
The Indiana Pacers couldn’t quite close things out on Monday.
Indiana dropped to 2-1 in overtime games on the season and failed to build on two consecutive wins over Detroit and Atlanta.
The two teams traded shots for the final minutes of regulation with Domantas Sabonis scoring four consecutive points and letting the Pacers grab a short-lived 103-101 lead until Lavine’s three.
Sabonis and Myles Turner, who had blocked five shots at the time, both dealt with foul trouble in the fourth and in OT and played the final minutes with five fouls. Turner was assessed his fifth foul after a challenge from Nate Bjorkgren went sideways, and fouled out late in overtime.
The Pacers battled back from an 11-point deficit early in the fourth and gained their first lead of the period at the five-minute mark, and looked to be seizing momentum after a rough third quarter.
Indiana and Chicago traded slow-motion punches throughout the third period and the Bulls kept the Pacers at arms distance despite not being able to grow the lead beyond nine.
Neither team shot well and most of the Pacers’ rotation players shot below 50%. T.J. McConnell in his first start of the season had a good game from the field, shooting 8-9 from the field for 19 points.
The first half was a struggle for both sides, and turnovers reigned supreme, with Indiana finishing with more turnovers than assists.
Chicago dominated in second-chance points and bench points for much of the game, with Young and Tomas Satoransky, in particular, providing a punch off the bench. The Pacers’ bench struggled for most of the night, missing McConnell’s energy and relying heavily on Aaron Holiday and Jeremy Lamb.
Edmond Sumner got his first significant minutes in a while, and Goga Bitadze got two minutes in the first half.
Indiana Pacers player grades from loss to Chicago
Without McDermott and with McConnell sliding in, Brogdon shot the ball 25 times, and struggled from deep. He did grab 15 boards and hit the shot to send the game into overtime, but it wasn’t the best game for the Virginia-product.. Guard. Indiana Pacers. MALCOLM BROGDON. C-
T.J. MCCONNELL. A-. McConnell had a great night shooting the ball and put up one of his better performances of the season in 42 minutes. He also added three steals, four rebounds and three assists.. Guard. Indiana Pacers
C. Holiday took 12 threes on the night and hit 4 of them in 41 minutes. Hitting a few more from deep could have helped, but not a terrible night. Provided solid defense and energy on the perimeter, but he was a team-low -19 in his minutes.. Forward. Indiana Pacers. JUSTIN HOLIDAY
Forward. Indiana Pacers. DOMANTAS SABONIS. C-. Sabonis struggled from the field and was turning the ball over too frequently with eight. His rebounding wasn’t enough either, with Indiana being out-rebounded by 13. However, he did hit a lot of free throws and blocked four shots.
C+. Turner, like most of his teammates, couldn’t buy a bucket for most of the evening. Similarly to Sabonis, he didn’t do enough to stem the rebounding advantage that the Bulls were enjoying. A good defensive performance and going 6-6 from the line helps make up for some of it.. Center. Indiana Pacers. MYLES TURNER
Lamb played 25 minutes off the bench and probably could have played more. He continued shooting the ball well and scored 12 on 5-8 shooting from the field. Not his best night, but Lamb continued to show his value as a bench-scorer with another solid performance.. Guard. Indiana Pacers. JEREMY LAMB. B
D. Inconsistency has plagued Holiday all year, and tonight was no different. With McConnell moving into the starting lineup, the Pacers needed more from the young guard, but Holiday struggled shooting and didn’t register an assist.. Guard. Indiana Pacers. AARON HOLIDAY
Sumner only played 12 minutes and didn’t get a chance to do much. Didn’t register an assist, steal or block and only took one shot. Wasn’t terrible, but Indiana needed more from Sumner tonight.. Guard. Indiana Pacers. EDMOND SUMNER. C
NA. Bitadze made a brief cameo in the first half but only played two minutes. There isn’t anything to grade.. Center. Indiana Pacers. GOGA BITADZE
NA. Similar to Bitadze, Sampson played for a three-minute stretch in the second half.. Forward. Indiana Pacers. JAKKAR SAMPSON
The Pacers will have a chance to bounce back on Wednesday night when they travel to Minnesota to meet the Timberwolves.
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