Allen's homecoming good news for Pacers

The visiting Pacers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 101-94 Friday night. The Pacers are now 48-17 on the season while the Sixers fell to 15-50 after losing their 19th straight game.
The Big Plays
It was actually a bit of a shame their had to be a big play in this game because the uninspired Pacers allowed the Sixers to hang around for most of the game. This game had some suspense in it late. The Pacers were up 95-90 when George Hill hit a 3-pointer in the corner to give the Pacers an eight-point advantage with 1:46 to go.
The Ups

Lavoy Allen had 13 points and hit all six of his shots in Friday's win.

1) When the Pacers made the trade deadline day deal with the Sixers, the big news was the Pacers  getting Evan Turner. And it was oh by the way, the Pacers got Lavoy Allen, too. So, with the Pacers back in Philly, it would have been natural to think that Turner might be fired up and have a big game. Well, Turner wasn't and didn't, but Allen was and did. Partly by benefit of being in the right place at the right time on offense and catching good passes from teammates, Allen finished with 13 points, hitting all six of his shots, and had four rebounds off the bench as backup centers Andrew Bynum and Ian Mahinmi were unavailable. Allen is also a Philadelphia native, so you know it had to mean a lot to him to play well in front of his home crowd. And his performance certainly meant a lot in the Pacers win.
2) Paul George had one of his better games as of late with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. George also had a couple of ankle breaking moves on the Sixers that help set him up for easy shots. George also added six assists and four rebounds. His one issue on the night was turnovers as he finished with five.
3) The Pacers did hold their opponent to under 40 percent shooting for the second straight game. I wouldn't call it a great defensive effort by any means, but it was good enough against the the Sixers. It also helped that the Sixers' Thad Young kept shooting as he finished just 10 of 31 of from the field.
The Downs
1) This was certainly an uninspiring effort by the Pacers. They let a team they should easily beat by double digits, hang around and have some life in the fourth quarter. The Pacers had built the lead to as much as 17 points in this one and as has often been the case lately, instead of keeping the foot on the gas pedal, they let up and let an opponent back in the game.
2) Turnovers have been an issue at times this season and Friday was one of those nights. The Pacers finished with 21 turnovers and Hill was the lone Pacers starter to finish with less than three turnovers at two. The turnovers also contributed to the Sixers having 18 fast break points, an area where the Pacers have generally excelled at stopping opponents this year.
Afterthoughts
The Pacers were lucky enough to be playing a pretty bad Sixers team in this one. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Sixers were down by just five and then committed three straight turnovers. Also, when the Sixers were making their comeback the Pacers offense often left George standing in the corner instead of their being some kind of movement. That was disappointing to see because a player not moving around is much easier to guard then one in motion. Nonetheless, it's still two straight wins after a four-game losing streak and it keeps the momentum going in the right direction.
Next Up
The Pacers travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons in a 7:30 p.m. game Saturday. The Pistons are 25-40 and did have Friday night off after last playing and losing to Toronto Wednesday night. The Pistons are led by forward Josh Smith at 16.6 points and 7.1 rebounds and guard Brandon Jennings at 16.5 points and 7.8 assists. They also have Greg Monroe at 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds, Andre Drummond at 13.3 points and 12.9 rebounds and Rodney Stuckey at 13.2 points. The Pacers won at Detroit back on Nov. 5 by a 99-91 score, while Pistons defeated the Pacers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse 101-96 on Dec. 15.