Tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT the Indiana Pacers (32-7) and Golden State Warriors (26-16) will close a red-hot Martin Luther King Day slate of NBA action inside Oracle Arena. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Pacers fans can listen to the game on 1070 The Fan, while Warriors fans may do the same on KNBR 680.
This matchup will pit one of the league's top offensive clubs, especially from the 3-point line with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson leading the way, against one of its stingiest perimeter defensive teams, thanks to Paul George and Lance Stephenson.
George also doubles as Indiana's leading scorer, at 23.5 points per game as he battles another rising star in Curry, who leads the Warriors with 23.2 points a contest. Indiana has been nothing short of dominant lately, ripping off four consecutive wins by an average margin of 23.2 points.
"It's just guys rising up to the occasion and stepping up," coach Frank Vogel said. "Lance (Stephenson) and Paul (George), they can do a lot of things."
On top of possibly the league's best defense, they are putting up well over 100 points a night during this hot stretch. "We are becoming an offensive juggernaut," swingman Danny Granger said. "At times, we struggled with our offensive efficiency but when we move the ball and pass the way we do and cut the way we do, it's hard to stop us."
While Golden State's shooting often garners the most attention, their own defense isn't too shabby. They're holding teams to under 100 points a game, and limited the New Orleans Pelicans to just 87 points their last time out.
"We forced them into tough jump shots and even when they got into the paint, you've got your rim protectors -- plural," Curry said. "When you get a couple blocks, they think about it the next time they come into the paint." Those blocks tend to come thanks to center Andrew Bogut, who will have his hands full with Roy Hibbert tonight.
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