featured-image

Game Rewind: Pacers 96, Clippers 103

Game Recap

 

When Lavoy Allen drained a 20-foot jumper to bring the Pacers within two points with 2 minutes remaining, it gave fans a reason to think Indiana might avoid its second six-game skid of the season. And it gave the Clippers a scare that their winning streak might not extend to nine games.

But behind a remarkably balanced offensive attack that featured six players in double figures, the Clippers (16-5) defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-96 on Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as the Blue-and-Gold fell to yet another impressive west coast foe.

“There’s going to be times like this, you have to remember it’s a long season,” said C.J. Miles, who poured in a game-high 30 points. “You just have to worry about the next one, worry about the next practice, worry about the next game. Once you win that one, you worry about the next one.”

Trailing by just five to start the second half, Indiana drilled two quick field goals -- but then the Pacers (7-15) went cold offensively. The Clippers capitalized with a 17-4 blitz that created 17-point Los Angeles lead.
That lead was threatened by a flurry of baskets from the Pacers’ bench unit, as they cut the deficit to as little as two points in the fourth quarter using a 16-4 run in which Lavoy Allen and C.J. Watson either scored or assisted on every point. C.J. Miles was a major factor in the comeback as well, scoring 14 of his 30 points in the second half.

“He had a great performance tonight,” said Indiana head coach Frank Vogel. “We always say when a shooter is in a slump the numbers will even out. He’s always got a green light.”

But the Clippers – who shot 47.7 percent on the night – were able to pull away behind some clutch shooting from guard Jamal Crawford (18 points) and a game-high 19 rebounds from DeAndre Jordan.

The first half seemingly mirrored the second for Indiana, as the Pacers’ starting unit was outscored 24-11 by Chris Paul (17 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds) and company to begin the night. J.J. Redick proved to be a problem as well, notching 10 first-quarter points. For a moment, it seemed the Pacers had no way to match the Clippers’ scorching offense.

“It was basically a replay of the first half,” said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers of the final two quarters. “The starters would come in and get a big lead, the second unit would come in and lose (it), and then the starters have to hold on.”

Yet despite the strong effort from the Pacers’ reserves, the Blue-and-Gold fell short. And worse, the road ahead gets no easier for Indiana, as they will go on the road to face the Raptors, who have a conference-best 16-6 record.

“We did fight back and we got a chance to fight at the end, but they were too far ahead,” Luis Scola said. “It was hard. When you are down 20, it would have to be a perfect storm.”

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers finished with 12 offensive rebounds for a season-high 25 points.

Lavoy Allen tallied a season-high 14 points and 13 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

C.J. Miles shots 7-of-14 from long range after starting off the season going 11-of-58 (18.9 percent).

You Can Quote Me On That

“The important thing is that we kept fighting, even though we let those leads slip up. I’d rather learn our lesson in a win. I’d much rather have it that way,” - Clippers guard Jamal Crawford.

“I think they are giving effort, not just getting in a rhythm. We’ll evaluate and tweak that group to get them to play better. We just have to tinker with things a little bit. It either has to change or use it differently to succeed,” - Pacers coach Frank Vogel on the starting unit.

“What makes us good is that no one really cares. Blake (Griffin) and CP (Chris Paul) and Jamal (Crawford) are usually going to score the bulk of the points with J.J. (Redick), but we have one of those teams that they really don’t care per night. If it’s J.J.’s night, they allow it to be J.J.’s night. If it’s Blake’s night, everybody gets out of his way and allows it to be Blake’s night. Tonight it was really no one’s night. It was everyone’s night as far as sharing the ball, which is good.” – Clippers head coach Doc Rivers on his team’s balanced scoring.

“I’ve just been able to find some creases and make some shots. I think that I’ve been able to stay on the floor consistently and practice consistently has helped me out. It’s just the extra work I’ve been able to put in and the routine I’ve been able to go into on off days have helped me out a lot.” – Pacers guard C.J. Miles on his big night.

Stat of the Game

The Pacers’ bench scored a season-high 66 points. Their previous high was 57 at Phoenix.

Noteworthy

  • Luis Scola’s 14 rebounds were the most he’s had in his two-year career with the Pacers.
  • The Clippers’ nine-game winning streak is their fourth-longest in team history.
  • The Pacers will play the Clippers again one week from today on December 17th.

Up Next

The Pacers take to the road face the Eastern Conference leading Raptors on Friday night at 7:30 PM.