Indiana Pacers Recap: Los Angeles Clippers 91 Indiana Pacers 89 F

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In a game that came down to the final seconds, the Indiana Pacers find themselves on the losing end of yet another game 91-89. This is the Pacers 3rd straight loss, 6th loss in the last 8 games.

One player that everyone kept their eyes on was Pacers All-Star Paul George, who previously this week was involved in talks that would reduce his minutes because of fatigue. George looked anything but that tonight with a double-double, putting up 31 points and 11 rebounds. At times George looked like the most consistent player on the floor, nearly having a double-double in the first half. He has been every bit as important to the Indiana Pacers success, and we saw no reduction in his minutes tonight.

One bright spot for the Pacers in the loss comes with Rookie Myles Turner, who hit his first 7 shots of the night. Turner finished the game with 16 points in just 18 minutes of play off the bench. The return

Myles Turner hits an open jumper, he finished with 16 points. (@NBA)

of Ian Mahinmi pushed Turner’s minutes back, with Mahinmi seeing 29 minutes. Turner with his size and height looks to be the future in the front court for the Pacers. He has shown tremendous upside since returning from his injury that kept him out for 7 weeks.

The Los Angeles Clippers stole the show, in which leading up to this game many rumors and news had been surrounding their All-Star PF Blake Griffin, who was involved in an altercation with a member of the organization which resulted in injury to his hand. Griffin underwent surgery this morning and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks for his recovery. Even with the negative publicity the Clippers seem to be facing in the last 48 hours, they came out and were as impressive as they have been all year. Since Dec. 25th, the Clippers are 12-3 without their leading scorer, much of that thanks to JJ Redick. Redick finished the night with 19 points and shot 40% from the three point arch. This is not surprising as Redick has been averaging 55.4% from the three since Blake Griffin’s absence.

As the Pacers hit their worst losing streak of the season, and a slight mid-season skid many fans are wondering whether or not the Pacers will make a move before the deadline is over. Last night on ‘Pacers Fast Break’, Nate Taylor from The Indy Star joined me to talk about this very situation. He informed me that it doesn’t seem likely that the Pacers make a move before the deadline, barring that they continue to stay healthy. The tendency to lean on Paul George has become evident and with the lack of production from both Monta Ellis & George Hill (combined 7-26) is a cause for concern. Whether or not the Pacers decided to make a move before the eventual trade deadline will ultimately be determined in the next few weeks. If the Pacers continue with the inconsistent offensive play, they might look to add a veteran guard to bolster their scoring and help Paul George.

The Pacers next game is Thursday, where they will play host to the Atlanta Hawks at 7pm ET at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Catch ‘Pacers Fast Break’ Mondays from 9-10PM ET for all the latest news, highlights, scores, and analysis right here on IndianaTalks.com

Written by Jordan Maly