In a stunning tie-breaker the Indiana Pacers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans in a last-minute overtime score. The game-winning shot came from Malcolm Brogdon who scored 21 points and 7 rebounds throughout the game. This drove the team two points past the Pelicans to win it 118-116 and cover the Indiana Pacers spread.
Other notable highlights include Victor Oladipo leading New Orleans with 25 points. Additionally, Domantas Sabonis reached his seventh consecutive double-double hitting 19 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Despite their loss, the Pelicans scored a notable achievement with all five starters finishing with double-figures. This included Brandon Ingram with 31 points and 8 assists, and Zion Williamson with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
A Bigger Role for Brogdon
When T.J. Warren injured his foot, there were some decisions to make. Ultimately, Malcolm Brogdon went on to play a bigger role and it suits him well. After winning it for the Pacers against the Pelicans in the last seconds of the game, he came back and did it again. Scoring 35 points in this game against Houston, Brogdon hit his second career high in the last three games. With only a couple of minutes left on the clock, he scored a 3-pointer to win the game with 114-107.
All-Star player Victor Oladipo commented on the rising star’s successful streak: “I think he’s comfortable with the offfense, comfortable with coach, he knows where to get his shots and when to be aggressive,” he said. “He’s playing great for us right now. We’re going to need him to do that all year.”
He’s played more than 35 minutes in each of the last games, and even played defense against the legendary James Harden. In fact, Harden finished that game with only 15 points, making it the second in a streak of sub-20’s. This came as the Pacers beat Houston for the second time in three years.
“My team trusts me with the ball, my coaches trust me with the ball,” a confident Brogdon commented. “These shots were already made this summer, these shots were already made in preseason.”
Brogdon’s comeback was stellar, with some help from Domantas Sabonis who scored on the putback. He then came back to win it for the Indiana Pacers with two free throws with seconds left to go.
Head to Head with the Suns
On Saturday night the Pacers will face the Phoenix Suns at home, both teams have equal win-loss stats (6-2). But after two drama-filled endings in the last two games against the Pelicans and Rockets, they’re gonna need to pull it off for a third time. On offense, Malcolm Brogdon has been behind the success for Indiana, playing above his grade. So far he’s set two career highs consecutively in the last games, 33 against New York and 35 against the Rockets.
But the Suns are coming in hot after narrowly losing out on the last season playoffs. They’ve been eyed to make it to the postseason this year. Like the Pacers, the Suns have won most of their games, attributed to young scorers Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. The team also recently integrated 10-time All Star Chris Paul after trading with Oklahoma City. The hopes are that he’ll provide some guidance to the all-star squad carrying the team forward.
Pacers vs. Suns Spread
The current spread has the Pacers at -2 and Suns at +2, with a moneyline at -130/+110. One important thing to note is that the Suns haven’t been a favorite pick for the majority, but a few of the important bettors are betting on Phoenix. While they are the underdogs in terms of three-pointers to the Pacers, only around 38% of bets on are the Suns. But if you get on your sports betting app now and bet $20+ on the Suns you can win $125 if they make at least one three-pointer.
