Roy Hibbert Propels Pacers to Season Opening Win

Oct 29, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland (22) reacts during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis, IN – The Indiana Pacers came away with a 103-91 win to open the season over the Philadelphia 76ers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. They had to do it without George Hill, David West, and C.J. Watson, and of course they were also missing superstar Paul George. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but they were able to make the plays to come away with a 1-0 record.

There were quite a few bright spots for the Pacers tonight, but there were also quite a few concerns. Roy Hibbert came through with a huge game, which was extremely encouraging after the rough end to the year that he went through last season. Turnovers were one of the negatives, as the Pacers committed 17 turnovers and weren’t ever able to pull away from the 76ers due to those turnovers.

Hibbert powered the Pacers with 22 points on 6-8 shooting, and also made 10 of his 13 foul shots. He also recorded eight rebounds and seven blocked shots on the night. Nerlens Noel played opposite of Hibbert for his first NBA regular season action, and scored six points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked three shots.

Donald Sloan had a huge game as well for the Pacers, scoring 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. It was very encouraging to see that, as the Pacers will be asking for a lot from him until Hill and Watson are able to get back on the court. Rodney Stuckey came off of the bench to score 16 points and dish out five assists in just 16 minutes. C.J. Miles also scored 15 points despite having a rough shooting night.

Chris Copeland scored 11 points off of the bench, but had a rough shooting night as well. Luis Scola started and scored 10 points, and was a great veteran presence out there on the court.

Tony Wroten had a big game for Philadelphia with 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He has continued to improve over the past couple of years, and the 76ers have a very talented guard to pair alongside of Michael Carter-Williams when he gets back on the court.

Indiana now will look forward to their second regular season game on Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.