Indiana Pacers Fight Back to Defeat the Golden State Warriors, 104-95

The Indiana Pacers posted a big win on the road, defeating the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center last night, 104-95. Even though the home team had a lead up until the final period, they would freeze midway through the same, allowing the guests to make a 13-0 series.

That run was what decided the match, lifting the Pacers to their seventh triumph of the campaign. Nate Bjorkgren’s boys bounced back following a loss against the Kings in Sacramento one night before, 127-122. It is a big boost for the Indianapolis team, which is slowly nearing the top of the Eastern Conference.

“We knew we needed this dub on the road,” said Myles Turner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib4a2-ihe_U

He was the one who scored a three with 2:59 left, allowing the Pacers to take a 93-90 lead and start that strong push that knocked out the hosts. The league-leading blocker had 5 rejections tonight, posting a double-double as well, with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. Turner was 7-of-11 from the field, with three threes in five attempts.

Even though Indiana had several bit-time absences, such as Victor Oladipo, TJ Warren, and Jeremy Lamb, they looked quite solid. Their biggest advantage in tonight’s matchup were the points from the paint, from where they outscored the rivals 56-34.

Besides Turner, Domantas Sabonis was excellent as usual, and these two fellas did the most damage to Golden State. The Lithuanian All-Star had an all-around performance with 18 buckets, 14 rebounds, and six dimes, making himself useful in all the areas of the game.

Unlike in previous contests, Malcolm Brogdon didn’t post some high scoring numbers, just 13 points, but added 8 assists, while Edmond Summer contributed with 12 buckets. Aaron Holiday was phenomenal off the bench, with the Pacers’ point guard recording a strong double-double – 16 points and a game-high 12 assists.

On the other side, the Warriors managed to waste a constant lead they had from the middle of the opening period until the start of the last. Steve Kerr’s boys were constantly between six and nine points but without the power to break the opponents and create a double-digit distance.

After narrowly defeating the Raptors two nights ago, GSW couldn’t post two in a row, closing a seven-game homestand with a loss. Steph Curry experienced a tough defense, with the Pacers setting up a box+1 defense on Curry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJtG8ZJaV-0

The two-time MVP dropped 20 points and was 7-for-17 from the floor, adding four boards, three assists, and two steals in 36 minutes. Andrew Wiggins had 22 points, hitting four threes, with seven rebounds and five blocks, some of them very attractive.

Kelly Oubre played 29 minutes, dropping 17 points with five rebounds, while Damion Lee, the hero of the game vs. Raptors, added 12 buckets of the bench. The fact that he had three points more than the rest of the non-starting players was one of the biggest reasons why hosts lost in the first place.

The second pick from this year’s draft, James Wiseman, played 26 minutes, scoring 8 points and gabbing 9 rebounds, and Draymond Green had another of his versatile matches with seven points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds.

Warriors will now start a three-game road trip in Denver on Thursday night and then move to Phoenix one night before finishing this quick tour in LA against the Lakers on Monday.

The Pacers, too, have three more road matches coming up, with the Trail Blazers, the Suns, and the Clippers.