featured-image

Game Rewind: Pacers 110, Lakers 91

Game Recap

The Pacers didn’t just snap their eight-game losing streak on Monday night. They picked it back up, snapped it again, stomped on it, and flushed the remnants down the toilet for good measure.  

Indiana (8-17) returned to the win column in emphatic fashion, rolling past the listless Los Angeles Lakers (8-17) in a lopsided 110-91 victory that wasn't really that close. The Pacers led by 39 points in the first half and 31 heading into the third quarter before a late flourish by the Lakers' reserves. Still, the margin was the biggest in any Pacers win this season.

"Even though we haven’t been winning, we’ve been trying to play the right way, been trying to come together as a team," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said of the victory. "I was proud of our effort at both ends of the court."

Slow starts had plagued the Pacers during their eight-game skid, but it certainly wasn't a problem in the first half on Monday night. Indiana started the game with a 26-4 run en route to a 60-27 halftime lead.

You won't see many quarters more lopsided than the first quarter of Monday's game. Indiana's balanced attack scored a season-high 34 points in the first 12 minutes on 50 percent shooting. The Lakers, meanwhile, made just 2 of their first 18 shots and finished the period 3-of-20 from the field.

"They played last night and we know they're not a great defensive team, so we just wanted to play aggressive offensive basketball," Vogel said. "And I think that carried over to the defensive end."

When the buzzer sounded, the Blue-and-Gold led by a whopping 34-15 margin. Indiana outscored the Lakers 16-2 in the paint and 8-0 on the break in the quarter.

Amazingly, the second quarter followed more or less the same script. The Lakers missed 19 of their first 21 shots in the second quarter before knocking down a pair of threes just before the buzzer. The Pacers outscored the visitors 26-12 in the period and led by as many as 39 points.

"I think we did a good job of not letting them find rhythm," said Pacers guard C.J. Miles. "We didn’t give up any easy baskets to really let them get going. I think the biggest thing was just making everybody work for every shot they had to take."

Offensively, Indiana excelled in the half. Miles, back in the lineup after missing one game with a bruised knee, scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Rodney Stuckey put the crowd on triple-double watch early by posting 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists before the break. Four other players had at least seven points in a dominant first half.

Los Angeles was better offensively in the third quarter, scoring 31 points in the period and cutting the deficit to 19 on Ronnie Price's 3-pointer with 3:37 remaining. But the Blue-and-Gold closed the quarter with another 14-2 run, keyed by eight points from Stuckey, that allowed the Pacers faithful to exhale.

All five Pacers starters sat out the entire fourth quarter as Indiana cruised to an easy win.

Stuckey finished with his second double-double in as many games, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Stuckey, who had just one double-double in his previous three seasons, also dished out seven assists.

"He was terrific," Vogel said of Stuckey's play. "His motor is as good as anybody in the game. Offensively, he really set the tone for us."

Miles finished the night with 20 points and four other Pacers players scored in double figures. Donald Sloan scored 17 points, David West had 12 points and nine rebounds, C.J. Watson also scored 12, and Roy Hibbert finished with 10 and seven.

A day after passing Michael Jordan for third-place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-26 shooting, but was just 3-for-13 from the field in the first half. Nick Young added 18 points off the bench for the Lakers.

Next up, the Pacers head out West for a three-game road trip, beginning against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.

"We've got some tough games coming up and this was an important win," Stuckey said.

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers outrebounded the Lakers, 53-38. It was the seventh time this season the Blue-and-Gold had 50 or more boards. They are 5-2 when that occurs.

Indiana's 39-point lead with 1:01 remaining in the second quarter was over double their largest advantage in any game this season. Prior to Monday, the Pacers had never led by more than 18, a mark they reached against Orlando on Nov. 28.

The Lakers shot 15 percent in the first quarter (3-of-20) and 16.3 percent in the first half (7-of-43), both season lows.

The Pacers made 23-of-27 free throws on the night (85.2 percent). Stuckey led the way by getting to the line 10 times and converting eight attempts. C.J. Watson was 6-for-7 from the charity stripe, while Luis Scola was 4-for-4.

Donald Sloan (17 points) reached double figures for the first time since scoring 29 points on Nov. 24 in Dallas.

The loss snapped the Lakers' three-game winning streak. The Purple-and-Gold have not won four in a row since reeling off five straight victories to close the 2012-13 regular season.

You Can Quote Me On That

"We jumped on them early and we were able to get ahead on the scoreboard and that’s how we got this win. We played very well. We just need to build from it. We know how to play to win and we just have to do it every day. We’ve just got to figure it out, what kind of team are we going be, this one or the one before?" -Luis Scola

"There are certain things you have to do to try to make it tough on Kobe (Bryant) and Solo (Solomon Hill) did a lot of those things. We tried to make everything contested, stay down on him." -Frank Vogel on guarding Bryant

"(It is) a confidence level. But I’ve just been continuing to work on practice days, after practice, getting my extra stuff done. Taking good shots in the game is the biggest thing, and finding ways to get easier shots to get myself going. And my teammates are doing a great job." -Miles on his offensive success

"In the Portland game coach emphasized that. Guards needed to go in there and rebound a little more. That gives me the opportunity to go in there, sneak in there, and get some rebounds. I’ve just been trying to focus on that the last couple games. I will continue to do it." -Stuckey on his work on the glass

"I don’t think we came ready, both mentally or physically. I thought they were a desperate team that came out and jumped on us and we didn’t react too well to it. In the second half we came out and had a whole lot more energy. Felt like we were really embarrassed the way we played in the first half and came out in the second half the way we should have started the game." -Lakers head coach Byron Scott

"I think we had tired legs, a lot of our shots were short. Getting ourselves into such a big deficit was difficult; but at the same time, I thought in the second half we learned a lot. We learned that you have to play that hard, that you have to get after it." -Kobe Bryant

Stat of the Game

Noteworthy

  • The Pacers have now won three straight meetings over the Lakers and five of the last six games in the overall series.
  • The Lakers lead the all-time series with Indiana 56-25, including a 23-17 advantage in Indianapolis.
  • The Blue-and-Gold got 52 points from the bench, making Monday the first time in six games this season Indiana has won when the bench combines for 50 or more points.

Up Next

The Pacers begin a three-game West Coast road trip with a trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday night to take on the Clippers. Game time is scheduled for 10:30 p.m.