Pacers at Timberwolves
The Indiana Pacers attempt to halt a three-game slide when they visit
the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Indiana also is struggling on
the road with five consecutive defeats dating back to a victory over the
Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 2.
Star forward Paul George has struggled mightily over the last two games while averaging 9.5 points on 6-of-33 shooting. Another issue has been the interior defense as the Pacers have allowed a season worst for points in the paint in each of the past two games - 62 by San Antonio and 64 by Sacramento. Minnesota had dropped 10 of its last 13 games and was routed 108-83 by the Spurs on Wednesday in its most-lopsided defeat of the season. "We were overmatched and over-competed but that's OK," Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell said afterward. "We'll get there one day."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE PACERS (16-12): George was 5-of-19 shooting and missed a shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime in Wednesday's loss to Sacramento and was 1-of-14 shooting against the Spurs two nights earlier. George has been dealing with an upper respiratory infection but declined to make excuses for the back-to-back poor outings. "Just struggling," George told reporters. "Still getting good looks, lots of easy opportunities. They're shots I've been making all season long. You just go through that during the season."
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (11-18): Veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin didn't see any action in the loss to San Antonio and that could become a trend as the club is trying to deal him. "It's not a perfect situation and K-Mart's been great but it is what it is," Mitchell told reporters. "I'm not saying K-Mart's not going to play but I talked to him before the game and he understands some of the things we're trying to do." First-round draft pick Tyus Jones - just recalled from the D-League - moved into the guard rotation and saw 20 minutes of playing time while Martin sat.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Timberwolves have won seven of their past 10 home meetings with the Pacers.
2. Minnesota rookie C Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Spurs for this fourth double-double in five games.
3. Indiana SF C.J. Miles scored 20 points against Sacramento after shooting 8-of-30 from the field over the previous three games.