Pacers Pound Lakers in Third Quarter Surge, Bulls Defeat the Hawks

In a battle of the East’s top team versus the West’s bottom, the Indiana Pacers (43-13) defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (19-38), 118-98 on Tuesday.

While the Pacers led for the entire game, the third quarter was the difference maker for them. They returned from the halftime break with a 57-54 lead but by the end of the third quarter, had a 91-70 advantage. The Pacers not only outscored the Lakers by 18 points but shot 58 percent versus their opponents’ 33 percent.

But for anyone who keeps a close eye on the Pacer’s third-quarter play, this isn’t anything new. According to NBC Sports, the Pacers have outscored opponents by a 4.9 point average–tops in the league–greater than double for the team in second place, the Portland Trail Blazers with their +2.2. A different way to look at it? In the third quarter, Pacers have outscored opponents by 20.2 points per 100 possessions average.

Along with their third quarter magic (or perhaps rousing half-time speeches by Pacers’ coach Frank Vogel), the recent trade for former Philadelphia 76ers Evan Turner is already paying off.

In his first game with his new team, Turner scored 13 points and six rebounds–the bench’s leader for the night. Overall, it was a good night for his bench teammates as well who hit a season high of 50 points.

Paul George

For the night, five Pacers scored in double digits with Paul George leading the way with his 20 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. George Hill added 14 points and said of his team’s win via the Associated Press, “We’re probably one of the deepest teams in the NBA, where one through 15 can actually really play. It shows that if we continue to move the ball and share the ball like that, it can be anybody’s night.”

As for the Lakers, it was another night without Kobe Bryant and another loss–its sixth out of its last seven. The team had 43.3 percent shooting from the field, 34.8 percent in 3-pointers and went 62-42 on the glass with Indiana having a season-high night for offensive rebounds at 21.

Kent Bazemore is still playing well his new team as he scored 23 points–another career high–along with Wesley Johnson’s 15 points; Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks both added 13 points.

With Tuesday’s win, Indiana sits two games ahead of the Miami Heat (40-14) as they battle for the the East’s home-court advantage for the postseason.

The Pacers will return to action on Thursday against the lowly Milwaukee Bucks (11-45). For the 2014 NBA Championship, the Pacers are 5/2 to win it all.

The Lakers will play the Memphis Grizzlies (31-24) on Wednesday and suffer another loss (+11, 196.5 o/u).

In other Atlantic Division action on Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls (30-26) defeated the Atlanta Hawks (26-30), 107-103.

With a 14-point deficit after the first quarter, the Bulls rebounded to take a 54-51 halftime lead and in the game’s last minute of play, Kirk Hinrich hit six free throws to give the Bulls another win.

Chicago has now won its last six of seven games.

Mike Dunleavy

For the night, Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and four assists. Right behind him was Joakim Noah with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Carlos Boozer added 17 points with 11 boards.

Noah said of the Hawks via the Associated Press, “I think they really wanted that game today. We really wanted that game, too. It wasn’t pretty at times. I’m just happy we were able to come out with the win.”

Not only did the Hawks likely want the win, they also needed it as they have lost their last nine of 10 games. Part of this has been attributed to a host of injuries.

Jeff Teague was the team’s leading scorer with 26 points, two rebounds and seven assists.

The Bulls will play the Golden State Warriors (35-22) on Wednesday but will not win (+3, 187.5 o/u).