The Indiana Pacers (21-15) picked up an interconference road win Friday night at Smoothie King Center as they downed the New Orleans Pelicans (11-24), 91-86.
The Pacers endured a rare down night from star forward Paul George, who mustered just 13 points on a brutal 3-13 shooting performance, including 1-7 from three. Center Ian Mahinmi stepped up to the fill the void, as he scored 17 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots in just 24 minutes of action. It was a Mahinmi hook shot plus the foul that gave the Pacers an 84-82 lead with 4:46 remaining, and they wouldn't relinquish it.
Indiana needed a mammoth defensive effort to overcome their poor offensive performance, as they shot just 5-21 from the three-point line and turned the ball over a staggering 24 times. They managed to stay in the game by grabbing 40 rebounds on the Pelicans' 48 missed shots (83.3 defensive rebound rate) and blocking seven shots. C.J. Miles's performance off the bench — 15 points on 6-12 shooting — helped give the Pacers just enough offense to make the effort on the other end stick.
That defensive effort was made easier when Pelicans star Anthony Davis was forced to leave the game after just three minutes when he suffered a lower back contusion after diving into the stands during an attempt at a rebound. Tyreke Evans stepped up to fill the void, as he scored 27 points on an efficient 10-19 shooting night. Ryan Anderson filled Davis's big man shoes admirably, as he scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds, but New Orleans shot just 37.3 percent as a team and didn't have enough firepower without its superstar.
The Pacers have now won two straight and will look to make it three Sunday at Houston. New Orleans now owns a two game losing streak and will look to turn it around Sunday in Los Angeles.
