Warriors vs. Pacers: Score, Highlights and Reaction from 2015 Regular Season
The Indiana Pacers seemed primed to give the Golden State Warriors a run for their money. They had lost only two games thus far at home, and they started Paul George and George Hill, a pair of elite perimeter defenders with the on-paper goods to keep pace with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Even their new small-ball strategy seemed like a good fit to keep up offensively.
Well, about that.
Thompson poured in a game-high 39, and Curry added 29 of his own as the Warriors earned a 131-123 win over Indiana. The win is Golden State's 23rd straight to start the regular season, extending its already seemingly insurmountable NBA record.
ESPN Stats & Info noted where the team's streak stands overall:
For most of the game, the Warriors looked as if they were headed to another historic drubbing. They scored 44 points in the first quarter, held a 19-point halftime lead and had stretched it all the way to 28 heading into the fourth. It appeared as if interim head coach Luke Walton would have another breezy fourth quarter in which his starters could rest.
The Pacers had other ideas. The home team outscored Golden State, 40-20, in the final period, forcing Walton to re-enter his starters late. Chase Budinger scored 10 in the final 12 minutes, and the Pacers cut their deficit to as little as six. The lead Thompson and Curry built ultimately proved insurmountable, though, as Indiana's effort fell short.
Perhaps more concerning than the near-blown lead was a late injury to Thompson, who rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter. More on that later.
Twenty-nine of Thompson's points came as part of a 79-point first half that also doubled as an NBA season high. The Warriors have four of the year's five top-scoring halves, as noted by Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk:
Thompson's outburst continues a promising return to form since the calendar has hit December. The All-Star guard had only reached 20 points four times in October and November combined. He's done so in all four of the Warriors' games so far this month.
“Steph gets a lot of attention because he’s incredible, but they’re a great team,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said, per Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star.
Ten of Thompson's 13 made field goals came from three-point range, putting him in exclusive company, as noted by ESPN Stats & Info:
While he took more of a secondary role Tuesday, Curry still added 10 assists and seven rebounds. He's scored 20-plus points in five straight games and has hit multiple three-pointers in 50 straight games (including playoffs) dating back to last season. The reigning MVP drew headlines earlier in the day by saying he hopes to top Michael Jordan as the greatest player in history.
"Why else would I be playing? You want to be the best you can be," Curry told Sam Alipour of ESPN The Magazine. "And if the best you can be is better than him, then why not? That's good motivation."
Andrew Bogut (14 points, 10 rebounds), Brandon Rush (13 points) and Festus Ezeli (12 points) were also in double figures. Rush was getting the rare spot start with Harrison Barnes sitting out with an ankle injury.
The Pacers were led by a tour-de-force performance from Paul George, who had 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. George spent most of the game exerting himself hard on both ends, seemingly trying to beat the Warriors himself. He took 27 shots and was at times a little wild on the defensive end, which the Cauldron's Nate Duncan noted:
C.J. Miles also added 24 points and four rebounds, knocking down five three-pointers. George and Miles combined for 10 of Indiana's 14 threes. George, the NBA's best comeback story in a runaway, has knocked down at least five threes in four of his last five games.
Budinger (12 points), George Hill (12 points) and Jordan Hill (10 points) were also in double figures.
Overall, the Pacers shouldn't be too disappointed. Their comeback effort says a lot about their perseverance, and the way they scored with ease even when Golden State's starters were in the game is a promising sign for their small-ball experiment.
That said, it may say more about the state of the Warriors than anything. Twenty-three straight wins is taxing. Is it possible we're starting to see the streak creeping into the back of players' minds? For three quarters, it didn't appear so.
The fourth could be foreshadowing.
Postgame Reaction
Thompson offered an update on his injury status, per Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com: “It’s just going to be sore for a couple days, but I should be back in no time.”
Curry spoke on the fourth quarter, per Michael Marot of the Associated Press (via ABC News): "We've got to handle the end of the game better. We had a double-digit lead. You don't ever want to have to win the game twice or even three times. You want to make things as easy as possible when you have a night like we did for 36 minutes."
George commented on the Warriors: "This team is good. One thing about them, they've got a championship confidence. Every guy is out there to make plays. They know how to put the ball in the hole. It's not just Stephen, it's not just Klay. All of them had that confidence to make plays and make shots."
He also juxtaposed the two teams, per Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star: "We got to be real with ourselves. We’re not the Golden State Warriors. We have to come to that. We’re not trying to mimic them. I think their style of play is what we want to be like. We want to spread the floor and have guys be able to make plays on the perimeter, but we don’t have the personnel they have.”
Vogel commented on the Pacers' defensive lapses: "We slipped with our discipline. We haven’t had a lot of practice time and that’s what happens when you don’t have a lot of practice time. This team can teach you a lot of lessons. One of the lessons we learned early was when a team scores on you, run it back down at them. And they did that to us and punished us with it."
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