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Can the Pacers stop Davis once again?

In the two duels they played last season they managed to limit him to 30 points with 12/32 , but Davis has been performing at a much higher level this season and is currently the third best scorer of the league (24.7) with 30+ points in three of his last four matches

Although they've practically cleared the list of injured players, the Pacers are not scoring the desired results. They won just 2 of their last 12 games, but luckily for them the competition are not doing much better either, so a good run would get them back in the fray. After they beat the Lakers at home, they took a mini tour of the West, which they opened by losing against the Clippers and the Nuggets before beating the Wolves on Sunday, harder than expected, with 100-96.

- Once you taste victory you start to remember why you work so hard every day and why you stick to the system and try to play the right way. We need to keep believing in those things if we want to win- said C.J. Miles, who led his team with 28 points and 6 rebounds.


As the Wolves missed  13 of their first 14 shots while the Pacers had 55% shooting in the first half, its' little wonder that they managed to build up a 16 point lead by halftime. The home team managed to catch up and even take the lead for a while in the second half, but the Pacers' experience gave them the win in the finish.


- We did not want to allow them to come so close and take the lead, but at the same time we have guys who've been deep in the playoff and know what to do to win a game like this. I think we've shown calmness and composure in the final moments of the game- commented coach Frank Vogel, whose team had their best shooting game of the season (50.0%) the very next night after they had their worst (30.7%).


David West missed 14 of his 22 shots to score 19 points in Denver, but was much more efficient on Sunday when he made seven of nine shots for 14 points. Roy Hibbert also made a solid contribution with 15 points and eight rebounds.


The Pacers might get George Hill back tonight after he got injured in the preseason, who was expected to make up for some of Paul George's scoring after he was lost for the season. The Indianapolis team are struggling offensively, but are still very impressive on defense, limiting their opponents to 96.5 points, of which only 39.3 from the paint. The Pacers managed to frustrate some elite big guys this season, such as Pau Gasol (12 points, 4/15 shooting), Chis Bosh (9, 3/13), LaMarcus Aldridge (19, 8/23) and Blake Griffin (17, 31, 7/17, 11/27), but tonight they'll be hosting perhaps the best among them.


The reason the New Orleans Pelicans are holding a playoff spot is Anthony Davis and his great performances, that also made him the third scorer of the league (24.7 ppg) and best blocker (2.9), as well as a legitimate MVP candidate.


-I don't worry much about the MVP thing, it's still early to talk about that. I'm honestly not worrying about it, but I cannot say I'm not flattered, as it's an honor and a blessing. I've worked very hard, wanting to open the season well and be aggressive- said the Pelicans power forward, who ended three of his last four games at 30+ points scored.


The night after his worst match of the season in the defeat against the Blazers (7pts, 3/14), Davis loaded up the Thunder with 38 points, shooting 14/22 from the field and leading his team to a 101-99 away victory. It was his dunk that got the Pelicans a lead with three minutes to go, and neither of the teams managed to score a point in the remaining time.


-This was one of those strange games you feel lucky you won. We have to learn from this and become a better team- pointed out coach Monty Williams.


For the Pelicans, everything revolves around Davis, who is not doing too well against the Pacers. In the two duels they played last season they managed to limit him to a total of 30 points with 12/32 shooting, while his career percentage against them is 37.0%, his lowest among all the teams he met more than twice.


Incidentally, the Pacers won the last six games meeting between these teams, which is their longest active series against any opponent.