The Indiana Pacers are a deceptive team. Despite their 9-17 record, they rarely get blown out, and are the only club that can brag about beating both the Lakers and the Celtics so far this season. But last night against the Clippers, the team was without its two leading scorers in Danny Granger and Marquis Daniels, and their leading rebounder, Troy Murphy. All three were in the hospital, getting treatment for flu-like symptoms, but the remaining Pacers fought hard into the night before falling to the Clippers in double overtime, 117-109.
If the Clips couldn't win in one overtime in their last outing against the Bulls, they must have figured that playing through a second one would do the trick. Zach Randolph continued his dominant play, pouring in 34 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a whopping 50 minutes of playing time. Marcus Camby had 20 and 12, and Al Thornton scored 35, both players going 49 minutes.
Then we have Baron Davis. Might he be playing with an undisclosed injury? Because Baron simply hasn't looked like himself lately. He had another poor night shooting, hitting just five of his 18 field goal attempts, while allowing the Pacers' starting point guard, Jarrett Jack, to finish with 27 points and seven assists. If there is something physically wrong with Baron, it's early enough in the season for him to shut it down for a while and get it taken care of, especially with the way Randolph, Camby, and Thornton have all been playing.
The Clippers did win their fourth game in their last five tries, but at what cost? With all five starters having to play 48-50 minutes each to get the job done, we're likely to see an exhausted team take the floor tonight in Milwaukee, against a Bucks team that they otherwise should have had a fairly easy time with.
