The Pacers are still losing, but it’s actually kinda fun watching them being competitive while the tanking process continues.
Donald Sloan, the backup to the backup last year, has been forced to play significant minutes for the first time in his career due to injuries to George Hill and CJ Watson (and to a less extent the loss of Lance Stephenson to the Charlotte Bobcats in the offseason), and he has responded by putting up some of the best games of his career.
Sloan’s previous career high was 16 points, set on opening night against the Philadelphia 76ers, still the Pacers’ only win of the season. Tonight, he nearly doubled that tally and went toe-to-toe with John Wall, matching the All-Star’s point output with 31 and assist output with 7. He also had 6 rebounds and hit a bunch of clutch buckets down the stretch to help the Pacers stretch the game into OT.
The Pacers even had a chance to win the game in OT, but the Wizards guarded Chris Copeland (19 points) well off the inbounds play, forcing Roy Hibbert to launch a three that never had any chance of going in. Cope actually got the offensive rebound off the miss but was unable to send the game into a second extra period with his rushed final shot.
Hibbert was solid defensively, with 9 rebounds and 5 blocks to go with 4 assists, but he was horrible offensively, going 0-7 and finishing with just 2 points off late free throws. Brings back vomit-inducing memories of last season’s playoffs.
CJ Miles also continued his horrendous shooting. After going 0-8 the night before, he missed his first 5 shots tonight before finishing 2-13 from the field for 6 points.
Solomon Hill earned a new career high with 14, looking more and more confident with every game, while Ian Mahinmi had 6 and 6 and Lavoy Allen had 4 and 5 off the bench. Both big men looked a lot better than Hibbert at the offensive end.
With Rodney Stuckey expected to miss the next 3 games, the Pacers have signed Israeli guard and former Mav guard Gal Mekel using the hardship exception. There are reports that George Hill is expected to be out until December, and with Cj Watson still banged up, this is a signing that just had to happen — as much fun as it is watching Donald Sloan do this thing.
The Pacers next play the Celtics in Boston in what should be a winnable game.
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