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INDIANAPOLIS – Facing a similar situation to what they had in their previous two games, the Indiana Pacers (21-12) found a way to finish this one.

It was needed to stop Brooklyn’s 7-game win streak and make sure the Pacers once again didn’t drop three straight games.

The 114-106 victory over the Nets came after back-to-back games where Indiana blew final-minute leads.

“Just finishing,” Nate McMillan said after his team’s win in Brooklyn on Friday. “Again, we see a team that’s scrapping. They’re mixing up their defense and we had to finish this game. It’s a 48-minute game. I thought our guys made the plays in the fourth quarter, got the stops that we needed to. We played angry. We were basically in the same situation we were in in the last few games. We needed to execute and get stops to win the game and we were able to do that.”

Victor Oladipo was the catalyst after his own sloppy finishes in losses to the Cavs and Raptors.

Not only did Oladipo lead the Pacers with 26 points, while adding 9 rebounds and 6 assists, but the All-Star also made the necessary plays down the stretch to make sure Indiana wouldn’t let this game get out of the Pacers’ control.

“I thought he played angry,” McMillan said of Oladipo. “I loved his attitude coming out in the second half, being aggressive and making plays. That’s what he does. It was two games where he didn’t feel he played well and had a few turnovers. He was really efficient out there. Defensively, I thought he was good. He made plays when we needed him to.”

The Pacers led for the vast majority of Friday’s contest, despite being outrebounded by 12 (41-to-29) and allowing the Nets to shoot a season-best 51.6 percent from three (16-of-31).

Indiana was efficient on offense though, seeing more zone looks, with some big nights from their frontcourt players.

With the win, the Pacers avoided a 3-game losing streak during the entire 2018 calendar year.

“That’s always a goal of most NBA teams, certainly my teams,” McMillan said after Friday’s victory. “You try to figure it out after two losses. I thought tonight we did that. We figured it out. We didn’t want to drop three straight and was able to win here on the road against a scrappy Brooklyn team that’s been playing really well.

“Our guys, for 48 minutes, hung in there.”

Three Pacers’ Takeaways:

Closing Victor: This is the closing Victor Oladipo we have grown accustomed to in Indiana. After looking more Paul George-like in trying to close out games against the Cavs and Raptors this week, Oladipo was outstanding in Friday’s fourth quarter. Nate McMillan said he thought Oladipo ‘played angry’ on Friday and that was probably expected after the guard’s mistakes on Tuesday and Wednesday were major reasons why the Pacers had dropped their last two. But the ability to bounce back (see below) was there for Oladipo on Friday as his emphatic left-handed dunk in the closing minutes highlighted Indiana ending Brooklyn’s 7-game win streak.

Big Man Help: Victor Oladipo was back in star mode on Friday night. But he received plenty of help from his big men. Thaddeus Young had 21 points. Myles Turner finished the night with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Domantas Sabonis added 17 points off the bench. While Young’s continued scoring surge is notable, let’s focus on Turner’s numbers. Since Oladipo’s return nearly two weeks ago, Turner has averaged 9.4 rebounds per game and 3.6 blocks per game. The scoring has been steady, too. This is the growth in Turner’s game that was expected this season. We didn’t see it earlier this year when Oladipo was healthy, but we are seeing it now. Turner has had 7 double doubles in December, including 3 straight.

Pacers Don’t Do Losing Streaks: With Friday’s win, the Pacers will have gone the entire 2018 calendar year without losing three straight games. That’s an incredible note on a team being able to correct issues that rise up in consecutive losses, and then have the resiliency to make sure those things are squelched after the two straight defeats. That ability to bounce back and make sure losses don’t snowball is a huge reason why the Pacers have routinely been a top-5 team in the Eastern Conference over the last year. Nate McMillan and his coaching staff deserve major credit for the Pacers avoiding such skids.

 

Pacers Upcoming Schedule

-Wizards (Sunday, 12/23)

-at Hawks (Wednesday, 12/26)

-Pistons (Friday, 12/28)

-Hawks (Monday, 12/31)

-at Bulls (Friday, 1/4)

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