That’s more like it. The Boston Celtics are expected to be an improved up and coming team this season but like the Pacers have struggled to find their groove, coming into tonight’s game at 1-2 on the season. The Pacers took advantage of the situation and prevailed 100-98 in the end when Avery Bradley barely grazed rim on a three-pointer that was heavily contested by Paul George and George Hill.
Despite not being able to stop the speedy Isaiah Thomas all night, the Pacers did enough to get the W. Paul George scored a season-high 26 points (8-18 shooting) with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jordan Hill was also huge, getting the hustle points and finishing with 16, including a big jumper and free throws down the stretch to hold off the Celtics as they made their final run.
Monta again shot poorly — going 5-15 — but he did finish with 13 points and 8 assists, looking more comfortable with this new offense every game.
Lavoy Allen couldn’t hit any open shots or at the rim, but he was a monster on the boards, getting 11 with 6 coming on the offensive end.
With Ian Mahinmi suffering from a lower back injury and CJ Miles out with ankle problems, it was good to see Glenn Robinson III get some action, and he was impressive in his first minutes of the year, finishing with 10 points on 3-4 shooting. He looked real comfortable out there.
Likewise for Myles Turner, who had 7 points, 4 rebounds and a block in 18 minutes. Loving what I am seeing from this kid.
The biggest difference between these last two games and the first three has been defense and communication. It’s still definitely a work in progress but it’s at least good to see some progress.
The Pacers will next look to get back to 0.500 with a tough home game against the Miami Heat on Saturday.
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