Pacers at Spurs
The Indiana Pacers notched a win on the first stop of a five-game trip, but the road is only going to get tougher. The Pacers will try to make it 2-0 on the trip and six wins in the last seven games when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Indiana dropped six in a row before turning things around with a win over the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks in the game before the All-Star break and is finding a rhythm with former All-Star guard Victor Oladipo in the lineup. "He's going to make or miss shots every game - you can't control that," Pacers All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis told reporters of Oladipo, who scored 19 points in Saturday's 113-104 triumph at Cleveland. "What we see from him though is he's more active defensively, he's being more aggressive and that's good for us. Teams respect him so the more aggressive he is, the more he gets other guys open or he finishes himself." The Spurs are three games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference but improved to 15-13 at home after holding off the Orlando Magic 114-113 on Saturday. "We are the reason we are in this position," San Antonio forward Rudy Gay told reporters. "If we win as many games as we can, we will be in a good place."
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Indiana, FS Southwest
ABOUT THE PACERS (36-24): All five of Indiana's starters scored in double figures in Saturday's victory, led by 30 points on 14-of-20 shooting from small forward T.J. Warren. "We have a lot of weapons," Warren told reporters. "A lot of guys that can play-make, score, and just make stuff happen at the right time for us. We're going to continue building that chemistry." The Pacers continue to get consistent play from Sabonis, who delivered 18 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists on Saturday for his fifth straight double-double and 46th on the season - tied for second in the NBA behind Giannis Antetokounmpo's 48.
ABOUT THE SPURS (25-33): San Antonio was without forward LaMarcus Aldridge on Saturday due to a shoulder injury that leaves him day-to-day, but Trey Lyles stepped up in his place and delivered a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds in 40 minutes. "I think from the last game we had I wasn't being as aggressive," Lyles, who was held to six points on 2-of-6 shooting in a home loss to Dallas on Wednesday, told reporters. "Tonight, I was a whole different player being aggressive offensively." Lyles scored in single digits in each of the previous four games and is averaging 5.7 points and 5.7 rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers C Myles Turner recorded double-digit rebounds in each of the last three games after hitting double figures a total of five times in his first 47 games this season.
2. Spurs C Jakob Poeltl (knee bruise) left Saturday's game and is day-to-day.
3. Indiana won its last two visits to San Antonio.