Stephenson, Pacers have reason to feel good

The Pacers defeated the Boston Celtics 106-79 Sunday night and improved to 22-5 on the season. The Celtics fell to 12-17.

The Big Picture

For the second straight game the Pacers took an early lead and dominated a game at home. They have now won their last two games by a combined total of 60 points. The Pacers pulled away in this one in the second quarter and led by 15 at halftime. They built the lead to 22 points by the end of the third quarter as Paul George scored 18 of his 24 points in the third quarter.

The Ups

Lance Stephenson had his third triple double of the season
as the Pacers cruised to their second straight easy victory.

1) There were lots of good things in this one and well, you have to start with Lance Stephenson here. He earned his third triple double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. While his numbers deserve attention, his 18-footer from the top of the key in the fourth quarter, the ankle breaking move he used to get himself open, and the dance that came afterward will all be highlight worthy. The good news here is this was Stephenson's fourth straight excellent game. If he continues on this path, it will only mean good things for the Pacers. That it has come at the same time as Danny Granger's potential and then eventual return may or may not be coincidence. But for now it's hard to imagine Stephenson not being a starter, especially with his ability to play some point guard when starter George Hill needs a bit of break from the position while still in the game.  The only thing to beware of is that Stephenson's post-shot and post-great pass antics will likely rub some opponents the wrong way, so he's got to be ready for some hard fouls that will come because of that. But a confident Lance is a good Lance, whether you like the way he dances or not.
2) We've heard for a bit that when Danny Granger comes back to expect a slow start for him. That would be understandable considering he played only five games last season, meaning he missed 102 games before returning to action this year.While Granger was just 1 for 7 in his first game back Friday night, he came back with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting including hitting 4 of 5 from 3-point range. We could say that having that kind of threat coming off the bench would put the Pacers among the league's elite. But they already were before Granger's return. Now, the Pacers' bench could be among the league's best to go with an already elite starting unit. They Pacers reserves scored 40 points Sunday night.

3) The return of the defense has been good to see. After holding the high-scoring Rockets to 81 Friday night, they followed with another top defensive effort. Sure, the Celtics aren't the Trail Blazers or Thunder, but it's good to see the Pacers not play down to the level of the competition in these last two games.

4) It was nice to see the Pacers do a tribute to former Pacer star Clark Kellogg on the video board before the game (to be fair I was not at that game, but did see the video the Pacers posted on Facebook). During most of Kellogg's playing days, which were cut short by bad knees, he was one of the few reasons to go see the team. He hit an offensive rebound shot as time expired to beat the then championship-level Celtics team (and yes, I was at that game) and that was back in Larry Bird's prime when about 50 percent or more of the crowd was rooting and for the Celtics. But that basket had almost all of Market Square Arena cheering for the Pacers and it was in that moment that I thought, you know, maybe someday, the Pacers will win an NBA title. Maybe those days are upon us.
The Downs
1) It's hard to find any downs here and be too serious about it. You know, reserve guard Donald Sloan was the only player to not score missing his only shot from the floor. Had he hit that shot, the Pacers would have shot over 50 percent for the game. But, you still have to love Sloan if for nothing else than simply that he tweets "I'm up" each day when he wakes up.

Afterthoughts

What looks to be the Pacers most difficult 10-game stretch of the season ended with a win over the Rockets Friday night. And now we may be seeing the benefits of playing difficult competition over an extended number of games. When you play against the Clippers, Blazers, Thunder and Heat twice in that stretch, win or lose, you can't help but get better by playing against such high quality teams. It's just a matter of playing the same way no matter who the opponents are and the Pacers have done that with regularity this season.

Next Up

The Pacers play at Brooklyn Monday night. The Nets are 9-17 on the season and received bad news over the weekend that center Brook Lopez was out for the season. He had been their leading scorer at 20 points a game. The one thing that could be a bit dangerous here for the Pacers is that teams are sometimes a little more dangerous for a couple of games after they lose a top player and before reality starts setting in. The Nets still do have point guard Deron Williams, shooting guard Joe Johnson and small forward Paul Pierce. They are all capable of getting hot and carrying a team at times, so it will be important for the Pacers to continue to play the same kind of defense they have in these last two games.