Pacers at Jazz
The Indiana Pacers may be operating once again without star guard Victor Oladipo when they kick off a four-game road trip Monday against the Utah Jazz. The Pacers' leader in scoring (21.4 points per game), assists (4.7) and steals (1.56), Oladipo has missed three consecutive contests due to a knee issue and is considered a game-time decision for this one.
He and forward Domantas Sabonis (ankle) both missed practice on Saturday and coach Nate McMillan seems to want to see more from Oladipo before thrusting him back into game action. "He hasn't done anything live on the floor in a week," McMillan told reporters over the weekend. "He's a lot farther away from coming back than those two guys (Sabonis and Myles Turner). He's going to have to go through a couple of live practices before he is allowed to play." The Pacers are 1-2 without Oladipo, with the win coming in the form of a 121-94 rout of the Jazz at home last Monday. Utah followed that with two more defeats before taking out its frustrations with a 133-112 triumph at Sacramento on Sunday, producing 50 more points than it did in a setback at the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE PACERS (11-8): Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and Sabonis added 19 and 16 rebounds before suffering the ankle injury late in Friday's 111-100 loss to San Antonio. Indiana also played that game without Turner (ankle), who has recorded at least three blocked shots in each of his last five contests and will be a game-time decision on Monday. "Hopefully, I can get it good to go on Monday," Turner told the Indianapolis Star. "It's good I got another day to try to get it right."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (9-11): Sunday's offensive breakout came without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, who sat with a rib contusion. Fellow guard Ricky Rubio scored 27 points against the Kings for his third effort with at least 20 in the last five contests, including a season high-tying 28-point performance at Indiana. Center Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday for his Western Conference-leading 18th double-double.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bogdanovic led six players in double figures with 21 points in last week's win over the Jazz.
2. Utah SG Alec Burks is averaging 15.5 points over his last two games after producing a total of 22 in his previous five contests.
3. Pacers SG Tyreke Evans was 1-for-12 from the floor while tying a season low with two points in the loss to the Spurs.