The Indiana Pacers limped into Friday night’s matchup against the Spurs tired, hurt, and it eventually showed up on the scoreboard. With Victor Oladipo sitting out again with a bum knee and Myles Turner joining him with a sore ankle, it was hard for Indy to piece it all together for Friday night’s matchup as they loss 111-100 to the Spurs.
San Antonio got out to a 13-3 lead early with LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan leading the charge. DeRozan had 16 points while Aldridge recorded his second double-double of the year with 33 points and 14 rebounds. The Pacers’ Domantas Sabonas was also playing with a sore ankle but still did his best to slow the 10-time all-star down.
Early in the season it has become apparent that Bojan Bogdanovic is maturing into the main offensive weapon for the Pacers. While much of the team struggled to put the ball in the cup, it was another surgical night from Bogdanovic who finished with 21 points on 10 of 15 from the field.
With two key starters out, the bench and rotations were out of sort, the second unit struggled to find a steady rhythm on either end of the floor except for Cory Joseph who had 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists against his former team. However, his stat line was the least of his worries in the loss.
They controlled the pace,” Joseph said. “They made us play their game. We weren’t able to play fast; I feel like that’s when we’re at our best.”
A big story of late has been the struggles of one of the most efficient guards in the league Darren Collison. Collison led the NBA in 3-point percentage (.468) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.2) last season, but in 19 games this season Collison is shooting just .325 from the 3-point line and has a 3-to-1 ratio.
“I just don’t feel the rhythm at all,” Collison said. “I just have to keep (playing) and stop thinking. As a shooter, it’s all about rhythm shots and not overthinking and just going out there and playing. Last year I had a better feel for the game. I just have to stay with it and catch a rhythm.
The Pacers’ bright spot that continues to shine when given the opportunity is Aaron Holiday who looks to be a spark plug for the second unit with his fast-paced play on both sides of the court. Holiday finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds off the pine in a failed Pacer rally, but the experience gained now will be useful come April.
What’s Next
The Pacers (11-8) get a much needed three days off before they hit the west coast for three games against Utah, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Lakers. They hope to have Oladipo and Turner back for the trip, but both are still day-to-day.
The Spurs (9-9) continue their road trip Saturday night against the Bucks before finishing the trip against the Bulls and Timberwolves. Pop and the rest of the team have been battling injuries all season and will continue to lean on All-Star veterans DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge.