Indiana Pacers road woes continue in loss at Spurs
Last night in San Antonio, the Indiana Pacers‘ sloppiness and turnover count helped caused a 106-92 loss to the basketball machine that is the Spurs.
The San Antonio Spurs are arguably the best basketball team in the league, and they were nice enough to let the Indiana Pacers hang around until just after the half despite one of the worst performances by Paul George in recent memory.
Behind 14 turnovers and poor shooting, the Pacers were handed their fifth-straight road loss to fall to 16-11 on the year. In four out of the five losses, Indiana let up over 100 points, a growing concern for a normally defensively sound squad.
The Good
The Hills of George and Jordan played well as the former faced his old team and the latter continued to show his consistency.
George Hill managed 15 points on 6/13 shooting while Jordan Hill added 15 points and 9 boards on 7/10 shooting. J. Hill was especially instrumental in providing a boost off the bench, where without him it would’ve been a grim comparison.
Also deserving special mention is Rodney Stuckey, who led the team in scoring with 16 points on 6/11 shooting including 2/4 from deep. One of the few positives last night was Indiana’s percentage from long-range though it was never going to be enough.
The Bad
For one thing, pitting the Indiana Pacers against the San Antonio Spurs is always going to be a tough fight for the Midwesterners. Personnel wise, few matchup with S.A. well but the emergence of Kawhi Leonard as an all-around basketball monster complicates things even further.
Paul George was responsible for Kawhi on both ends as the debate rages on between who is the better two-way player between the two. Unfortunately, though, the combination of single-digit scoring on 1/14 shooting along with recovering from an upper respiratory infection got the better of PG-13.
That’s not an excuse – that’s just the facts, though Kawhi would’ve shown no mercy regardless. The Spurs’ prize player hit for 24 points to lead all scorers while grabbing a few boards and assists along the way.
While the road has been tough for the Pacers, they return home on Wednesday to take on the Sacramento Kings at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In addition, it’s another Pacers Hickory night where they stay undefeated sporting the hickory red.
There’s still much room for improvement for head coach Frank Vogel’s squad. Wednesday is just a pit stop before a trip to Minnesota, but the building blocks are there for a decent run in the east. As far as revenge goes, the Pacers have to wait until a home game on March 7 for another shot at San Antonio.