LOS ANGELES — Siakam, Haliburton, and Turner led the Pacers in a blowout win over the Clippers, 133-116.
Pascal Siakam scored 31 points on 12/20 field goals. Tyrese Haliburton had a near double-double with 21 points and 9 assists. While Evan Turner also contributed with 24 points and 7 assists.
The Pacers trio generated an offensive display that the Clippers had no answer for.
Indiana was lights out from three pointers as they made 17/28 shots from behind the arc. This is an impressive 60.7% from three, which was double the Clippers’ 30% from three.
The Pacers also accounted for 58.1% field goal shooting, making Indiana efficient from inside the three as well.
The easily generated offense of the Pacers has brought up questions about the Clippers’ identity. Especially from the defensive end.
“So, right now do we have an identity? I think yeah were soft, Coach Ty Lue said. “You can’t pick and choose when you want to have an identity,”
The lack of identity led to the Pacers controlling this game completely from the second quarter onwards. Indiana outscored the Clippers by 22 points in the last three quarters of the game.
Although the Clippers struggled defensively, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George performed well with 26 points a piece on efficient shooting. Leonard was 11/18 on field goals, while George was 12/18 from the field.
The struggles have been apparent as the Clippers have lost five straight games to teams with winning records.
The Clippers were once competing for the first seed in the West, but have now fallen to the fifth seed.
The Clippers start their four-game road trip tomorrow at Philadelphia against the 76ers. If Los Angeles doesn’t find their identity, then the Clippers may have home court advantage in the playoffs.
