There’s just no stopping the Indiana Pacers. Indiana moved to within a half-game of leaders Cleveland in the Eastern Conference standings with an emphatic victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. They will look to slice that deficit even further when they take on the struggling Portland Trail Blazers in an intriguing showdown at Moda Center tonight.
Line: Indiana Pacers (-1.5) at Portland Trail Blazers (+1.5); total: 201.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Indiana Pacers (12-5)
The Indiana Pacers extended their winning streak to six games with a convincing 103-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Paul George led the way for the Pacers in this contest, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He has been solid for the Pacers during this unbeaten run, averaging 32.8 points and 7.5 boards over the last six games.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Key to the Pacers’ sudden resurgence has been their incredible offense. The Pacers have now scored more than 100 points in each of their last six outings. Apart from Davis, Monta Ellis has also played an integral role in Indiana’s renaissance. He is averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 assists over the Pacers’ last six games.
They will look to replicate that performance when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers tonight. It’s bound to be one heck of a test for Indiana as it has struggled mightily at Moda Center of late. The Pacers are winless in their last six road games there. That being said, the Pacers are playing some excellent basketball on the road this campaign. They are 6-3 on their travels this season.
Things are going from bad to worse for the Portland Trail Blazers as they crashed to their second consecutive defeat with a gut-wrenching 115-112 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. It was another disappointing performance by the Blazers who squandered a seven-point lead in the final 1:40 of regulation. The Blazers have now dropped three of their last four games.
The Blazers will look to get their season back on track when they face the surging Indiana Pacers tonight. For Portland to snap its losing skid this evening, it needs to execute much better down the stretch. The Blazers’ loss to Dallas was their sixth game this season wherein they have lost while leading in the fourth quarter.
The onus then is on Damian Lillard to step up his play against the Indiana backcourt. He totaled 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the match against Dallas but was a non-factor towards the endgame. He averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his two meetings with Indiana last season. He currently leads the team in points (24.4) and assists (6.9) this campaign.
Writer’s Prediction
The Pacers (-1.5) extend their winning streak to seven games with a 103-93 victory.
