Indiana Pacers Fall to the Warriors, 98-96
By Evan Reller
Mar 4, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) makes the winning basket with .06 of a second on the clock against Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Golden State defeats Indiana 98-96. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The Indiana Pacers suffered their fourth home loss of the season Tuesday night. The Pacers couldn’t keep up with the Golden State Warriors, ultimately losing 98-96.
Indiana is now 46-14 after the loss, and holds just a one game lead over the Miami Heat in the East.
The Pacers struggled to maintain pace with the Warriors and simply couldn’t cut into the lead. Golden State led by four for most of the evening before expanding to a 12 point lead in the fourth. The Pacers made a furious rally late in the quarter to tie the game with under a minute remaining.
The Warriors took advantage of a mismatch with George Hill on Klay Thompson with under 10 seconds left to play. Thompson, who had 16 points in the fourth quarter, shotover Hill to hit the game winner.
Paul George took a three pointer with 0.6 seconds left on the clock that was too strong. George was fouled on the play, but it wasn’t called.
George managed to erase Stephen Curry down the stretch. Curry had zero points and three turnover in the fourth. George manning up against Curry left the mismatch with Hill on Thompson.
George finished with 26 points. He also recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds.
David West led the Pacers with 27 points off 10-of-17 shooting. West also recorded seven rebounds.
The Warriors were their typical selves from the three point line, shooting 50-percent and hitting 10 of their attempts. The Pacers weren’t giving up easy shots either, Golden State just seemed to be hitting every difficult shot possible.
Rarely did a 50-50 ball bounce the Pacers way either.
Roy Hibbert had an efficient 12 points and notched three more blocks on the season. Lance Stephenson nearly recorded another double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The biggest issue of the night for the Pacers was bench scoring. Indiana’s backups were outscored 34-11 and shot a combined 5-for-16 on the evening.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Pacers as they head to Charlotte tomorrow night to face the Bobcats to kick off a three game road trip.
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