Pacers beat Pistons 115-112 as Paul George shines

The Indiana Pacers traveled up to Detroit and the Palace at Auburn Hills to beat the Pistons 115-112 in a scrappy, yet impressive way. The real standout, though? Paul George, again.

First off, it’s preseason. Don’t read into preseason, it doesn’t mean as much, you’re getting too excited, etc.

But, it was a good night in Detroit for Pacers fans. The team won, there was more offensive output than ever, and most importantly to some, Paul George stole the show. The two-time NBA All-Star showed out, shooting 10-17 from the field, 5-9 from 3-point range, and 7-8 from the line to total 32 points in 24 minutes of action. George was just one of four Pacers in double figures (Young, Ellis, and Glenn Robinson III) but came out the top scorer with his confidence blossoming.

So much for not playing Power Forward, right?

Only kidding, if only everything was that easy.

However, George looked great tonight and is presumably much more comfortable after seeing that there really isn’t a ceiling as to what he can create offensively. Sure it makes hitting the boards that much tougher when you play small, but the Pacers won both the rebounding and stealing battle while turning it over less in the first half, when George played the most.

George’s teammates looked good, too. Monta Ellis is still adjusting in this Pacers team and style of play, but he showed promising flashes when attacking the basket and squeezing into tight spaces. He’ll be fun to watch this year.

Sep 28, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; (left to right) Indiana Pacers guard

Monta Ellis

(11), forward Paul George (13), and guard

George Hill

(3) pose for a photo during media day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

As for the rest of the gang, both rookies in Myles Turner and Joe Young played well in the minutes they saw. It’s refreshing to see a big man hit the floor with some confidence and he steps into every shot like he’s going to sink it. He didn’t score as much as he would have liked against New Orleans, but last night he was a modest 4-9 from the field for 8 points, while Joe Young put up 18 points on 5-10 shooting and 7-7 from the line. The Oregon alum was great in the late game situation, coming up with a basket or play on the defensive end to help the Pacers out, too.

Shayne Whittington deserves a special mention for his effort last night as well. The way he fights for rebounds is the way I wish every Pacers player fought. He’s a hard worker, tenacious on the glass, and a good body to throw in when the situation calls for it.

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The lone disappointment tonight – and it was out of his control – was George Hill not returning for the second half. Late in the second quarter, Hill went down on the defensive side and stayed down, only for him to eventually get up and walk off the floor under his own power. Hill was responsible for 8 out of 10 first half assists and chipped in a few points as well in his 15 minutes of play. Hopefully, all is well for their game in two days time, and if not then hopefully by next Tuesday when they host Detroit.

Overall, Indiana was fun to watch last night. Their offense was impressive and, yes, even though it’s still preseason, Paul George was throwing hot flames at the hoop and landed more than half of them. Of course, starting 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from 3pt range never hurts, but what do I know?

The Pacers next game is against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, October 8, tip-off at 7:00 pm ET.

Next: Pacers return to preseason action tonight v. Pelicans

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