INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers have been on the struggle bus lately and on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse it was time to get off. Coming in on a four game losing streak and a five game losing streak to the Washington Wizards something had to change. When the smoke cleared Indiana was finally walking out of the place with a 116-110 victory.
The Wizards had even eliminated the Pacers in May during their play-in game which left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Led by Mr. Double-Double himself, Domantas Sabonis, dropped his 19th double double on the season with 30 points and 10 rebounds. He even threw in 6 assists and 3 steals for good measure.
Caris LeVert dropped off a smooth 19 points followed by Malcolm Brogdon’s 17 and Chris Duarte’s 13 points.
Indiana jumped out of the ride quickly and assertively leading 28-18 after the opening quarter and never looked back. They kept the Wizards at arms length the rest of the way.
” Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. had this to say afterwards, “It is tough…When you get behind in the first quarter and you’re fighting uphill the rest of the game, it’s tough. Twelve turnovers for 21 points, that’s pretty insurmountable.”
Indiana played a very up tempo, physical and aggressive game and it paid off. “We had a much stronger physically presence tonight,” Carlisle said. “There was a collective will we played with tonight that we had not played with the last couple of games. I think our guys really understood this game was going to come down to how hard we could fight.”
Hopefully this victory helps with their confidence going forward because it can become a very long season.
Up next the Pacers host the Knicks on Wednesday.