Pacers, George face Rockets' offensive juggernaut (Feb 27, 2017)
HOUSTON -- It was easy to sympathize with Pacers forward Paul George in the heat of the moment on Saturday night as his temper raged and his emotions led to his ejection early in the third quarter during a loss to the Miami Heat.
George had been the focal point of rampant trade rumors in the days preceding the NBA trading deadline last week, and while that speculation formed a cloud over George and the organization, the Pacers' losing ways yielded more angst.
Indiana (30-29) lost for the seventh time in eight games with the 113-95 setback, and will continue a five-game road trip in Houston on Monday night against the Rockets at Toyota Center looking to avoid falling back to .500 for the first time since Jan. 23. If George was running hot, he had several reasons to be.
That doesn't mean he wasn't contrite in the aftermath of his ejection.
"I've got to be better," George told the Indianapolis Star. "That's the only thing I can say about that. I've got to be better."
The same could be said of the Pacers from both a micro and macro perspective. Indiana trailed 64-58 when George departed and rallied to take the lead later in the period only to come undone in the fourth quarter. Save for a 10-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies coming out of the All-Star break, the Pacers' defense has been nonexistent during their recent slide, allowing a league-worst 118.7 points per 100 possessions during the losing stretch.
Their post-George collapse against Miami was a microcosm of their recent level of play.
"We've got to keep our head in that situation," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "Certainly when he left the game they had momentum. I thought they gained momentum in that second quarter when they made that huge run and it continued throughout the game. You've just got to settle down, calm down."
The Rockets (42-18) have showcased a supercharged offense following the acquisition of guard Lou Williams, averaging 135.5 points with a 59.5 effective field goal percentage and 123.2 offensive rating. But what rankled Houston coach Mike D'Antoni on Saturday night was a defense that surrendered 130 points in a 12-point win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets were outrebounded by 27 and allowed Minnesota to shoot a robust 52.1 percent from the floor.
So, despite their season-high scoring output and despite setting a new NBA single-season record with their eighth game of 20-plus 3-pointers - Houston shot 22 of 58 from deep in the victory - the Rockets were talking defense a day later.
"Nobody is going to complain with a win," Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said. "But doing the things that we want to do is the big thing. We feel defensively we didn't give our best effort, we didn't do our schemes to perfection the way we like, and giving up 130 points is a lot of points to give up no matter if you score 140 or 131 points. Giving up 130 is too many."
