Pacers Get Another Win, Bulls Look to Get Back on Track Against the Magic
The Indiana Pacers (30-7) took on the Sacramento Kings (13-23) on Tuesday and after a second quarter 23-5 run, put the game away for an eventual 116-92 win. With their 116 points, it represented a season high on 54.9 percent shooting. From the team’s opening 11-2 run, it was a sign regarding how the game was destined to go.
Paul George
Paul George had 31 points for the night (four 3-pointers and 24 second-half points) with David West adding 16 points and eight rebounds; Lance Stephenson contributed 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Pacers have now won their last five of six games.
With Tuesday’s win, Pacers coach Frank Vogel will get the Eastern Conference coaching spot for the All-Star game as the Pacers are now guaranteed to have the top winning percentage for the conference through Feb. 2. Vogel said of the nod via the Associated Press, “My name is on the release, but this is recognition of our team’s success. It’s a team honor and I’m really excited about it.”
As for the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins gave it a good effort as he added 31 points for the night (12-of-21 shooting with 13 rebounds) but his teammates fell a little short as Rudy Gay was his only one who scored in double digits (12 points). With the loss, the Kings saw their three-game win streak end.
The Pacers remain at the top of the division with the Chicago Bulls (17-19) sitting 12 1/2 games back. On Thursday, they’ll host the New York Knicks (15-23).The Pacers sits at 13/4 to win the 2014 NBA Championship.
Bulls vs. the Magic
On Wednesday, the Bulls will try to get a win streak going again after snapping a five-game one on Monday with a 102-88 loss to the Washington Wizards (17-19).
Prior to this, Chicago had given up an 85.4 point average with 40.1 percent shooting as they won six of seven games but then enabled the Wizards to shoot 52.0 percent.
Taj Gibson said of the game via ESPN, “Games like this humble you. Right when you’re feeling too good about yourself, you’re feeling invincible, a team comes in there and smacks you, wakes you up to reality.”
Carlos Boozer
The Bulls could have a good opportunity to turn things around on Wednesday night when travel to play the Orlando Magic (10-28). They have a two-game road win streak going and Carlos Boozer plays well against Orlando with his 24.3 point and 10.8 board averages against this team on its home court.
As for the Magic, they’ll looking to snap an eight-game losing streak as well as avoid a seventh straight home loss to the Bulls. They just completed a five-game road trip and averaged 88.0 points from 39.5 percent shooting; the Magic, who lost all of them, had an average losing margin of 20.2 points.
The one “bright” game of its road trip was the 107-88 loss versus the Dallas Mavericks (23-16), where the Magic shot 44.4 percent in the game and woke up with a 21-5 run in the third quarter.
But they fell short at the end.
The Magic have Arron Afflalo as its leading scorer (20.8 points per game) but he’s been out for two previous games thanks to a foot injury. The team hopes he’ll return but Nikola Vucevic, who is recovering from a concussion, will likely miss his fifth consecutive game.
In their last matchup, a Dec. 16 83-82 Magic win in Chicago, Afflalo scored 23 points while Glen Davis and Vucevic had a combined 24 points with 22 rebounds. This also represented the lowest number of points allowed by Orlando for the season.
The Bulls are a different team than in the first meeting and are out to prove something. Vegas isn’t sure who will get this win but the Bulls sit at 50/1 to win this year’s NBA Championship.
