First Thoughts: Los Angeles 99, Indiana 91
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Indiana Pacers 99-91 on Thursday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
WHY IT HAPPENED: Chris Paul was dominant throughout the night, scoring 29 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds in leading the Clippers to an impressive win. David West did his best to keep up with Paul, scoring 22 points, but in the end Paul made the critical plays down the stretch. Paul George contributed in defeat with 20 points and five assists. Blake Griffin was outstanding with 18 points and 14 rebounds. He threw down an insane left-handed dunk while being fouled as part of his 10-point third quarter. Jamal Crawford pitched in 23 points off the bench for L.A. despite not landing in Indianapolis until mid-morning Thursday following the birth of his daughter.
WHAT WE LEARNED: Playing without Roy Hibbert (league suspension), the easy talking point for the Pacers is that they weren’t at full strength, so no one should make too much out of this loss. While there absolutely is some truth to that – just consider that Los Angeles scored a whopping 50 points in the paint – realize also that the Clippers (42-18) are just a better team. Paul and company are very good on the road (19-12), and Indiana had won five in a row at home over Western Conference opponents, a streak that was bound to end sometime. Ian Mahinmi wasn’t of much use filling in for Hibbert, picking up just five points and five rebounds. Danny Granger’s 12-point night was the most positive takeaway for the home team. He clearly had a great feel for his jump shot early and it carried over throughout his 19 minutes. Granger was the only bench player worth his salt for Indiana. The Clippers again proved why they are the deepest team in the NBA.
KEY NUMBER: Indiana committed 20 turnovers, including 15 in the first half when the Clippers set the tone and gained an edge. With so many miscues, the Pacers were a step behind seemingly all game.
TURNING POINT: After the Pacers fell behind by 17, Indiana coach Frank Vogel used a timeout with 5:37 remaining. Was he going to make substitutions with his team playing on the first night of a back-to-back? Hardly. Coming out of the timeout, Indy ripped off a 13-0 run in just under three minutes that included eight points from George. But Paul answered with baskets on three of the next four L.A. possessions – including a ridiculously tough jumper and a blow-by drive – to seal the deal.
NEXT: The Pacers do it all again less than 24 hours from now in Toronto for the final game of their four-game season series with the Raptors. The road team prevailed in each of the first three meetings.
