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The Pacers made themselves feel right at home in the Western Conference as they took the first of five games against teams from the West by making just enough plays down the stretch to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
As the Pacers made their way to Portland following the game, the Blazers took over Staples to hold on and beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening. At least the Lakers made the Blazers work in the end. So now Indiana and Portland will meet on similar terms when you consider both playing on a back-to-back with travel time from L.A. figured in, but the Blazers will enjoy that raucous home-court advantage which should make for a special environment tonight.
Oh, and the Blazers are 4-0 in their previous back-to-backs this year, so the Pacers will have to focus on slowing down the offense Portland can throw at them.
Hopefully, the Pacers enjoyed some rest last night. They had to expend a lot of effort against the Clippers and appeared fatigued down the stretch (as did the Clips). Paul George in particular looked tired and played tired toward the end of the third quarter (he did have 25 points by then, of course), which is something I discussed on The Phil Naessens Showwhich you can listen to here or in the player below.
Check out the links:
Pacers at Clippers - Box score
Game Preview: Pacers at Trail Blazers | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
Game Rewind: Pacers 105, Clippers 100 | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
Indiana Pacers 16-1 after 105-100 win over Los Angeles Clippers | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Pacers notebook: Paul's presence doesn't help L.A. | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Pacers 16-1 after 105-100 win over Clippers - AP
Clippers take too long to get up to Pacers' level in loss - latimes.com
Paul George’s Midrange Excellence | 8 Points, 9 Seconds
Jamal Crawford with the ankle-breaking move on Lance Stephenson (VIDEO) | ProBasketballTalk
Clippers frustrated by Pacers, 105-100 - Clips Nation
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Blazers Hold On for 14th Win - Blazer's Edge
Pacers-Trail Blazers Preview - AP
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Indiana Pacers game preview | OregonLive.com
NBA A to Z: Why Blazers call Wesley Matthews 'Ballot' - USA Today