The Big Plays
The Pacers put this one away with an extended run midway through the second quarter. The Pacers trailed 33-32, but then outscored the Kings 23-5 to build the lead to 17 points with 2:50 to go and to essentially take control. The Kings were never closer than nine points the rest of the way. Another key play, too, came at the end of the third quarter. The Kings' Marcus Thornton hit a 3-pointer to cut it to nine points with 3.2 seconds left. But the Pacers' Paul George dribbled through the standing-around Kings defense and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to snuff any small hopes the Kings had of a rally.
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| Lance Stephenson didn't have a triple-double but his energy was a key factor in the Pacers win. |
1) This wasn't Lance Stephenson's best game as far as getting or coming close to a triple double with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. But Stephenson's energy and ability to set up teammates for baskets was on display throughout the night. The Pacers are now 24-2 when the player known as "Born Ready" has four or more assists. His ability to consistently push the ball up the floor and put pressure on the other team's defense is something that is difficult to measure on the stat sheet. And of course, there was that fastbreak he led and scored on late in the second quarter, where he dribbled between his legs just before crossing the halfcourt line and the finished the break with a layup. The play caused the Kings to call a timeout and then we got to see a Stephenson smile which reminds us yet again that playing this game can indeed be fun. And just in case you missed it, here's the link to Stephenson's all-star vote video, which is a fun little watch, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_61Dq6lXMI
2) Paul George seemed to get on track a bit in the Pacers loss at Atlanta last week. He then had just eight points in Friday's win over the Wizards, his only non double-figure scoring night of the season. He came back to score 31 on an efficient 10 of 18 from the field Tuesday and along with Stephenson, played a key role in the second quarter when the Pacers pulled away in this one. George it seems is certain to be on the All-Star team again and deservedly so. And one of the best things too he did in this one was hold the Kings' Rudy Gay to 12 points. Gay had hurt the Pacers earlier this season when he was with Toronto, so it was good to see that George didn't let that happen again and a reminder too that George is a quality defensive player.
3) Frank Vogel is a legitimate candidate for coach of the year honors so it's nice to see that he will be the coach for the Eastern Conference in the NBA All-Star game. Vogel has grown with this team and he's proven it with a number of decisions during the season. My personal favorite is that when the Pacers have a 20-second timeout left at the end of the half (you get one a half), Vogel will use it to set up the final play of the quarter. He did that again Tuesday night and it led to a layup for David West to end the half. Vogel has also made other key decisions, too, like sitting Stephenson at the end of a blowout game when Stephenson was clearly playing just to get a triple-double, and not within the team concept, even though the home crowd wanted Stephenson to stay in. So, the Pacers coach has proven he will do the right thing, even if popular opinion wants otherwise.
The Downs
1) There was simply not much to not like from the Pacers standpoint here. There was a stretch in the second quarter where the second unit allowed the Kings to take the lead briefly, but after a Vogel timeout, reserves Danny Granger with a 3-pointer, Louis Scola and C.J. Watson each scored to give the Pacers the lead for good.
2) The Kings drafted Ben McLemore with the seventh pick and so far, while he's shown some ability, he's also shown he has a ways to go. He's scored in double figures just once in his last 11 games. The Kings probably weren't counting on him to be a savior, but they do need him to be a significant contributor and so far that's not been the case.
Afterthoughts
One of the things a top NBA team must do to compete for the best record in its conference and the league is have an exceptionally good home court record. The Pacers have met that challenge quite well as they are 19-1 at home. It's to a point now where the Pacers play with a high level of confidence at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and opponents too, know that they are going to have a tough time winning a game there and that's half the battle.
Next Up
The Pacers play again Thursday night when the play host the hated New York Knicks in a 7 p.m. game on TNT. The Knicks had been feeling good about themselves lately with a five-game winning streak, including wins over the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns. However, they did lose Tuesday night at Charlotte 108-98. They are led by Carmelo Anthony at 26 points a game, Andrea Bargnani at 13.5 points and Ray Felton and J.R. Smith each at 11 points a game. The Knicks, who are 15-23 on the season, did get center Tyson Chandler back Tuesday. He had missed four straight games with a respiratory infection and that could be a boost to them, especially on the defensive end.
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