Monday, January 20, 2014 at 10:30 PM ET at Oracle Arena
Game Preview: Pacers (32-7) at Warriors (26-16)
Scott Agness | January 18, 2014
Matchup
The Pacers (32-7) will be living out of their suitcases for the next 12 days as they complete their second — and final — five-game road trip of the season, beginning Monday against the Golden State Warriors (26-16). It will also be their second appearance on TNT in five days, as the game will be highlighted in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Indiana has 24 road games left this season, and its remaining schedule is the second easiest in the NBA. In contrast, the Warriors have played a league-high 25 road games.
Golden State, who plays at home for its next five games, are ten games over .500 and have the sixth-best record out West. Before winning in New Orleans on Saturday, they had lost three of the past four games.
Related: News and Notes Ahead of Road Trip »
Stephen Curry leads the Warriors with 23.5 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep. He’s also second in the league in assists, with 9.2 per contest.
In the offseason, the Warriors sent three players, four draft picks and cash in a three-team deal that landed them forward Andre Iguodala. And just last week, they acquired Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks in a three-team trade with Boston and Miami that sent Toney Douglas to South Beach.
Paul George has the date Dec. 1, 2012 ingrained in his memory forever. That was the last time the Pacers played in Oakland and it marked the start of a changing point in his career. George didn’t make a shot (0-for-7) and was scoreless in 29 minutes. When the Pacers returned from the West Coast after the game, George immediately went to the gym and fired hundreds of shots for a couple hours. The rest is history.
In his last three games, George is averaging 30.6 points and shooting nearly 58 percent. He’s also been able to get to the foul line almost seven times per game and made 19-of-20.
Frank Vogel had the team practice Sunday before flying making the five-hour flight to the West Coast. Since it’s their first meeting of the season, he wanted to get his guys up to speed with how the Warriors are such a quick-shooting team. They also will throw a zone defense at you, and that’s something the Pacers haven’t faced much this year.
The Warriors, who average 103.9 points per game, are a very good shooting team. All five of their starters shoot better than 44 percent from the field, with Curry and Klay Thompson the most deadliest. They can have an extremely quick release and can get hot at any moment. In a matchup like this, Indiana’s bigs are also important. They have to be a factor in providing support on screens in addition to their usual duties at protecting the rim.
Probable Starters
George Hill
Lance Stephenson
Paul George
David West
Roy Hibbert
Stephen Curry
Klay Thompson
Andre Iguodala
David Lee
Andrew Bogut
Injury Update
Pacers: None
Warriors: Festus Ezeli (out, recovery from right knee surgery), Nemanja Nedovic (out, strained left hamstring), Jermaine O’Neal (out, recovery from right wrist surgery)
Quotable
“We can’t foul them. We fouled some jump shooters last night. We’ve been in a habit of a couple times a game fouling jump shooters and that’s something we should never do. Trying to build that habit a little bit.” – Frank Vogel
“It’s the only way you can (approach a road trip). I know it’s cliché-ish or whatever but that’s really what it comes down to. Right now, we got to focus on beating the Warriors. That’s all we got to focus on.” – Frank Vogel on taking their 5-game trip one game at a time
“The biggest challenge is there’s not a big look or shot for him. That’s the toughest thing about playing guys like him because they can make a whole array of shots and every shot that they take has a high chance of going in.” – Paul George on Stephen Curry
“I think playing the Warriors is the best one to setup for it because they are tough team and play so well at home. All of our principles — help one another, contest every jump shot, load up the paint and make everything tough for guys — and everything that we do well is going to have to come into play right away against Golden State so I think that’ll set the stage for how we play along the whole trip.” – Paul George on the first game of a trip setting the tone
“When you go on the road, you have to create your own energy. One good thing about us is that as Frank says all the time, our defense travels. Your shot making may not always be there. We’re always going to shoot it well at Bankers Life but you go on the road and you got to rely on your defense.” – Danny Granger
Noteworthy
- The Pacers took the last meeting but the Warriors, who’ve been successful in their last four MLK Jr. Day games, have won four of the past five meetings at Oracle Arena.
- Mark Jackson, who played 405 games with the Pacers over six seasons, is in his third season has Warriors head coach.
- C.J. Watson averaged 8.7 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in three seasons (2007-10) with the Warriors.
Last Meeting
Feb. 26: The Pacers handled the Warriors 108-97 for their fifth consecutive win. Indiana outscored Golden State by 11 in the third period and then held them off the rest of the way. There was a minor altercation that involved six players, but primarily Roy Hibbert and David Lee, with 6:10 to play. Six technical fouls were handed out and Hibbert was ejected.
David West led the Pacers with 28 points and George Hill had a solid night, finishing with 23 points, seven assists and just one turnover. With 21 points and 11 rebounds, Paul George chalked up a double-double. The Warriors had five in double figures, led by sharpshooter Stephen Curry, who dropped 38 points on an efficient 14-of-20 shooting.
Broadcast Information | Find Local Listings »
TV: TNT – Marv Albert (play-by-play), Steve Kerr (analyst), David Aldridge (sideline reporter/host)
Radio: FM 107.5/AM 1070 The Fan, Pacers Radio Network – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Michael Grady (studio host)
