Pacers win seventh straight
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
(Photo by Pacers Sports and Entertainment)
INDIANAPOLIS — In the first 45 games of the season, the Pacers were 15-30. Since then, they are 15-4. They defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime on Thursday night by a final score of 109-103, to earn their seventh straight victory. With the win, they also pulled to within 3 1/2 games of Milwaukee for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
The main reasons for this huge Pacers turnaround- getting George Hill healthy, and bringing Rodney Stuckey off the bench.
Stuckey had another huge night with 25 points, six rebounds, and six assists. He wasn’t alone with his big performance off the bench. Luis Scola had a monster game with 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Pacers bench outscored Milwaukee’s second unit 52-10.
The Pacers got off to a slow start and trailed 31-19 after the first quarter. From that point on, everything clicked on both ends of the court. It was a playoff-like atmosphere at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “I think our fans are rallying around this team,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “They’ve always been behind us, but I think they’re starting to realize we’ve got a chance to do something special down the stretch.”
Milwaukee wouldn’t go away late and even had a chance to win the game in regulation. A big Pacers stop set the stage for some free basketball, and the Pacers rode the energetic crowd to victory.
The Pacers have now held seven consecutive opponents to under 40% shooting from the field, which is their longest streak in franchise history. Even without their elite defender Paul George, the Pacers have still ranked in the top three in the NBA in most defensive categories this season.
“The basketball we’re playing right now is so free,” Pacers guard C.J. Miles said after the win. “We don’t need to put any outside pressure on ourselves right now. We just need to keep playing free, and together. It’s been fun.”
These two teams will meet again in Milwaukee on March 26th in what could be a very important game. With the win tonight, the Pacers will at least have a chance of moving up another spot in the Eastern Conference before the playoffs start. For now, they’ll try to keep their winning streak going when the Boston Celtics visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
Follow Tyler on Twitter: @TylerSmith_ISL
