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INDIANAPOLIS – On a day celebrating basketball in the state of Indiana, the Pacers sent fans home proud of their team’s performance on Saturday night.
After their worst home loss of the season on Thursday, Indiana responded with needed bench production and a much better defensive effort against the Mavericks.
The 111-99 victory for the Pacers saw a comfortable second-half cushion lead to minimal game pressure down the stretch.
“I thought our defense did things we talked about, we got up and pressured the ball and tried to disrupt their rhythm,” Nate McMillan said after his team’s victory. “(Mavs) are a team that can execute in the half court and if you’re not pressuring those guys, they’ll pick you apart. I thought (Victor Oladipo) did a really nice job on the ball, keeping young (Luka) Doncic in front of him and not letting him break down the defense.”
McMillan gave Oladipo the key defensive assignment of Doncic, the star rookie who came into Saturday averaging more than 20 points per game.
But it was one of the more frustrating nights of Doncic’s young NBA career.
He was just 3-of-14 from the floor and got ejected late in the third quarter after kicking the ball into the stands.
Oladipo’s defense played a big part in Saturday’s victory, but his offensive struggles continued. The All-Star guard went just 4-of-15 from the floor.
“I thought he was taking good shots,” McMillan said of Oladipo. “He’s just going to have to continue to stay aggressive. He’s defending, he’s rebounding, he’s assisting, and that’s what we want him to do. He’ll get his rhythm back as far as knocking down shots.”
Indiana’s bench was the difference on Saturday.
Led by Tyreke Evans (19 points) and Domantas Sabonis (16 points and 11 rebounds), the reserves scored 52 points. The Pacers are now 10-0 this season when the bench combines for at least 50 points.
Three Pacers’ Takeaways:
–All-Star Defense From Oladipo: The NBA’s leader in steals isn’t asked to take on the opposing team’s most difficult assignment night in and night out. Nate McMillan would rather have Oladipo helping off the ball. But the Pacers decided to use Oladipo on star rookie Luka Doncic against the Mavericks. The result was an extremely frustrating night for Doncic, as he was just 3-of-14 and was ejected late in the 3rd quarter. Now, the scoring issues continued for Oladipo. But his on-ball defense was certainly noteworthy and is always a nice option for the Pacers to turn to. Oladipo did contribute in other ways on Saturday: 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
–Evans Provides Scoring Spark: Saturday was the 5th straight game in double figures for Tyreke Evans. His 19 points led the Pacers. What Evans has given the Pacers as of late has especially been welcomed with Victor Oladipo going through a scoring slump. While this is not what the Pacers were necessarily expecting when signing Evans, this is a reason why you need him. If Oladipo is taken away/struggling, you have another lead guard who can be more of a scorer for you. Evans was 7-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-3 from behind the arc on Saturday.
–Bench Delivers: With Evans leading the charge, Saturday was a great night for the Indiana bench. You had Evans scoring 19 points and then Domantas Sabonis adding 16 points and 11 rebounds. Evans and Sabonis were 14-of-19 from the floor and provided that dangerous 1-2 punch off the bench that helped Indiana take command. The bench was 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) from the floor, scoring 52 points. The Pacers are now 10-0 this season when scoring at least 50 points. Such scoring production was needed with Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic combining to go 6-of-25.
Pacers Upcoming Schedule
-Hornets (Sunday, 1/20)
-Raptors (Wednesday, 1/23)
-at Grizzlies (Saturday, 1/26)
-Warriors (Monday, 1/28)
-at Wizards (Wednesday, 1/30)
