National Basketball Association
Indiana 91, LA Clippers 70
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 27, 2016
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials:
#55 Bill Kennedy, #33 Sean Corbin, #65 Jason Goldenberg
Attendance:
15572
By The Sports Xchange
INDIANAPOLIS -- Playing without leading scorer Paul George sometimes brings out the best in the Indiana Pacers.
That's exactly what happened Sunday when George (20.8 points a game) sat out his second consecutive game because of a left ankle injury and a sore lower back.
Glenn Robinson III and Myles Turner each scored 17 points as the Pacers defeated Los Angeles 91-70 on Sunday -- the fewest points by the Clippers in coach Doc Rivers' four seasons with the franchise.
The previous low was 80, and the previous low this season was 83.
Indiana (9-9) won its second in a row, also getting 16 points from Al Jefferson, 12 from Rodney Stuckey and 11 from Thaddeus Young.
"We protected the paint and showed a wall on defense," said Jefferson, who added eight rebounds. "We have shown that when we don't have our best player, it is a must for the rest of us to come together."
The Clippers (14-4), who lost their second in a row on their six-game road trip, got 16 points from Blake Griffin, 13 from Chris Paul and 12 from Jamal Crawford. The Clippers shot only 31.4 percent (22 of 70), including 4 of 24 from 3-point range.
That 31.4 field-goal percentage is the worst by a Pacers' opponent this season. The Clippers' starting five combined for only 47 points and shot 34.2 percent (13 of 38).
"So far, we would play a good game, and then I would not recognize our team the next night," Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. "I don't want us to take steps backward after we win a game, and tonight we outhustled them and forced a good team into 20 turnovers.
"I liked our ball movement (26 assists) and I liked what we got from Al Jefferson. We have challenged Al to be good at both ends of the court."
A 3-pointer from Jeff Teague and then a short jumper from Turner gave Indiana a 57-42 lead with 9:29 remaining in the third quarter. Stuckey's basket pushed the advantage to 66-48 with 3:56 to play in the period.
Through three quarters, the Pacers led 76-58 and limited the Clippers to 34 percent shooting (17 of 50) to go with 16 turnovers.
Teague, who had 10 assists to go with seven points, said this victory was all about defense.
"We were aggressive right from the start, and we were active on defense all night," Teague said. "I thought we moved the ball really well and created a lot of open looks for guys."
The Pacers took advantage of 14 first-half Clippers' turnovers to build a 50-40 lead through the first 24 minutes. Indiana scored 13 points as the result of Los Angeles' turnovers.
"We don't turn the ball over, but we did tonight " Rivers said. "It's one of those nights. I just thought the turnovers changed the game early. They had 20 more shots than us at halftime, and we didn't seem very confident. I thought we settled the entire night offensively."
Turner had 13 points and seven turnovers to lead the Pacers through two quarters, and Young and Jefferson each added 10. Those three interior players were a collective 15 of 24 from the field in the opening half. The rest of the team was 7 of 28.
Griffin and Crawford each had eight for the Clippers in first-half action, when Los Angeles shot only 40.6 percent (13 of 32). Indiana also rebounded the Clippers during the first 24 minutes, 23-22.
"It was all bad," Paul said. "We shot bad. We defended bad. I think I had four turnovers in the first quarter alone, and we had 20 for the game. But don't take anything away from Indiana. They beat us. We have to sweep this one under the rug. We have to fix it and stop the bleeding at some point."
NOTES: The Pacers were without F Paul George (sore left ankle), G/F C.J. Miles (sore left knee) and F Kevin Seraphin (sore left knee). ... Glenn Robinson III started in place of Indiana leading scorer George (20.8). ... The Pacers were playing their eighth home game in a sequence of nine total games beginning Nov. 12. Indiana was 3-4 in the first seven of the eight home games. ... The Pacers have only five December home games and play 10 on the road. ... The Clippers rank second in field goal percentage (47.2), third in points per game (110.1), third in 3-point field goal percentage (38.8) and third in opponents' field goal percentage (43.2). ... The Pacers rank first in opponents' turnovers per game (16.8) and first in steals per game (9.7). ... Before Sunday night's game, the Clippers had won their two most recent games at Indiana. ... Entering Sunday's game, the Pacers led the all-time series, 51-32.
Top Game Performances
LA Clippers |
|
Indiana |
Blake Griffin 16 |
Scoring |
Glenn Robinson III 17 |
Chris Paul 4 |
Assists |
Jeff Teague 10 |
DeAndre Jordan 14 |
Rebounds |
Myles Turner 12 |
Chris Paul 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Rodney Stuckey 4 |
Austin Rivers 3 |
Steals |
Aaron Brooks 2 |
DeAndre Jordan 3 |
Blocks |
Aaron Brooks 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
LA Clippers
|
70 |
31.4 |
4-24 |
22-27 |
11 |
40 |
4 |
9 |
20 |
Indiana
|
91 |
43.5 |
5-19 |
6-7 |
26 |
52 |
4 |
8 |
14 |
Upcoming Games
-
Indiana will play their next game on the road against Portland. The Pacers have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .700 after a loss.
-
LA Clippers will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Clippers have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .667 after a loss.