After an ugly loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers were looking to rebound in Memphis to avoid consecutive losses. Sadly, it didn't happen as the Pacers lost two games in a row for the first time this season, in a 98-92 disappointing defeat from the Grizzlies.
It was All-Star Roy Hibbert versus All-Star Marc Gasol, two guys who aren't the best players on their team against each other. Then there was Danny Granger and Rudy Gay, surprising snubs who are the best players on their team. It was pretty interesting.
All joking aside, it was a close game to the finish. The Pacers jumped out to a fast start at 46-41 before Memphis surged back to tie it up at halftime. The Grizzlies would continue rolling into the third quarter before it was a tie game at the end of the quarter at 73. In fact, it was a tie game at the end of each quarter until the fourth.
Towards the end of the game, the Grizzlies took an intimidating 86-77 leading. However, David West was having a solid game and Indy kept hitting it down low to him until finally he tied the game off a nice spin move to the basket. After that, it was all the Grizzlies. A big thing I noticed is that the Grizzlies always kept coming from the back and were always open. They made it look so easy to get it to the basket and the Pacers looked so asleep on defense on every single one of those plays.
Hence, Indiana falls to 17-9 and Memphis improves to 14-13. It was not a solid game at all for the Pacers.
Another big reason for the Pacers' loss was their free-throw shooting. They went eleven-of-21 from the charity stripe. Hitting those could have had the result in a Pacers victory.
"I think that was a big reason we lost the game honestly," Granger said of the missed first-half free throws. "... We should have been up eight or seven or six or five going into halftime if we make half of those."
Marc Gasol was too good in this game, hitting big shots everywhere and finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. Rudy Gay led the Grizz with 21 points while Marreese Speights had a career-high 19 points along with nine rebounds. O.J. Mayo was big off the bench with 13 points.
David West was huge for the Pacers, with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Danny Granger had 19 points. Hibbert struggled with only five points and seven boards. Paul George had eight points and ten boards.
Indiana struggled overall and I hope they bounce back tonight as they face the Denver Nuggets.
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