Indiana Pacers: 3 stars in NBA play-in win over Hornets

First star for the Indiana Pacers: Domantas Sabonis

Along with Malcolm Brogdon, Domantas Sabonis has been a consistent and outstanding contributor for the Pacers all season. In his second All-Star campaign, he averaged 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists as an all-around offensive weapon.

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In spite of some early issues against a sturdy defender in Cody Zeller — and an incredibly unfriendly whistle — Sabonis finished the game with 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists in 33 minutes. Thanks to the wire-to-wire blowout nature of this game, he didn’t get a chance to seal the deal and get a triple-double with a 10th assist, but it’s a play-in game; these stats don’t count anyway.

Sabonis shot just 7-of-15 from the field, but his impact on the scoreboard went far beyond his shooting numbers as he facilitated for his teammates and helped open things up for Oshae Brissett’s breakout game.

While Brogdon expects to have a brutal matchup in the final play-in game against the Wizards, Sabonis may have an easier time of it against a frontcourt consisting of players like Alex Len, Robin Lopez and Davis Bertans (especially if the latter’s shot refuses to fall, like against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday with an 0-of-7 performance behind the arc).

There’s no such thing as a night off in the NBA when you’re on the court, but Domantas Sabonis figures to have a big edge on his opponents in this crucial matchup.