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Magic Vs. Pacers, Game 2 Links: Indiana Leans On David West To Lead Way

By Tom Lewis

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Presswire

For the Indiana Pacers in Game 2, the West post was the best post.

The Indiana Pacers de facto leader is David West and the power forward raised his game and intensity for the Pacers in the second half last night to help carry the Pacers to a 93-77 win over the Orlando Magic. West had eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals but also led the team in staying together and communicating on the floor.

"He (West) is leading our team right now in competitive spirit and will and desire and all that stuff that doesn't show up in the box score," Frank Vogel said of West. "He's providing our team with the necessary swagger to get a playoff win."

Actually, West had another assist not logged in the box score. With about six minutes remaining, as the Pacers came out of a time out, West noticed the Magic had gone small. The Pacers would need to adjust to keep tabs on the smaller Magic lineup trying to get loose behind the three-point line.

West started pointing to the bench and yelling to get someone's attention as the coaches gave instruction to the other players returning to the court. Finally, West was heard and Vogel sent Leandro Barbosa to the scorer's table. West also led by example, playing real physical in the paint against Ryan Anderson from the opening tip. To Anderson's credit he never backed down but did foul out and is probably a little sore this morning.

Check out the links after the jump, including a video of Paul George's put-back dunk in the NBA's Top 5 plays.


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