| Pacers | @ | Spurs |
|---|---|---|
| 99 | Score | 100 |
| 13 | Largest Lead | 13 |
| 111.2 | Offensive Efficiency | 112.4 |
| 51.9% | eFG% | 45.3% |
| 48.1% (39/81) | FG% | 42.4% (36/85) |
| 35.3% (6/17) | 3PT% | 33.3% (5/15) |
| 83.3% (15/18) | FT% | 60.5% (23/38) |
| 51 (18) | Rebounds (Off.) | 38 (7) |
| 10 (9) | Turnovers (Points Led To) | 9 (13) |
| 42 | Points in the Paint | 40 |
| 9 | Fast Break Pts | 18 |
| 15 | Assists | 18 |
| 5 | Steals | 8 |
| 10 | Blocks | 4 |
Post-Game Essentials: Box Score | PM Game Flow | Play-By-Play | Shot Chart | Behind the Boxscore | Indy Star Recap | Cornrows Recap | AP Recap | Pacer’s Digest Post Game
Josh Dhani runs the Pacers blog Always Miller Time over at Fansided and often hangs out on Twitter during Pacer games. And just moments after TJ Ford missed a last-second, potentially game-winning shot, Josh perfectly summed up the game in a tweet: “dunleavy inbounds and tj misses jumper. it’s over. pacers fall to 9-16. dammit! and my dog just farted which makes it worse!”
That’s what last night’s game felt like: Your dog farting. On the one hand, you’re proud of the lil’ fella cause farts are funny and cool so way to go, buddy. But, ultimately, it still stinks.
For this team, going into San Antonio and coming literally two inches away from winning is a big deal. If TJ Ford sticks that little pull-up fadeaway after catching an inbounds pass with 4 seconds left, this game goes down as a huge win.
Still, at 14-10, this Spurs squad isn’t exactly barnstorming the NBA right now, so it’s not like it would have taken an otherworldly performance to beat San Antonio on a night when Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli shoot a combined 7/25 (although 13/18 from the line). But the Pacers haven’t proven that they can beat even mediocre teams at home, let alone sleeping giants on the road.
(Aside from Boston, Indiana has not beaten a .500 team this year and the teams they have beaten have a 59-152 record for a .388 winning percentage. And New Jersey (2-26), Washington (8-17) and New York (10-17) are the only three teams they have beaten on the road, where Indiana is now 3-10.)
So while you have to like the effort and there are many positives to take away from this game (including the mid-game 56-30 run that turned a blowout into a game the Pacers looked like they would win, the stellar post game and shotblocking shown by Roy Hibbert and the ongoing hot shooting of Troy Murphy), it still stunk.
And even the infant in the photo below (who we’ll call Carlos) knows why.
They didn’t rebound (outrebounded 51-38, including giving up 18 offensive boards while only getting 7 of their own). They didn’t get to the line (FTAs: Pacers 18, Spurs 38). And Mike Dunleavy didn’t play greatly (something which it increasingly seems is going to be a prerequisite for this team to win).
Silver lining: Roy Hibbert looked absolutely dominant (aside from giving up a ton of offensive boards and generally still unfathomably being a poor rebounder overall while being 7’2″) and his way to a final line of 20 points (on 9/15 FGs and 2/2 FTs), 6 blocks, 7 boards and 3 assists.
Carlos definitely liked that.
But it still stinks.
Not at the table, Carlos.
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