After hitting rock bottom by conceding 158 points at home against Charlotte, Indiana turned the page with a two-game back-to-back “road trip” on the theme of the return, that of Domantas Sabonis in Oklahoma City which will be followed by that of Rick Carlisle in Dallas this evening.
Absent for four games due to a sprained left ankle, the pivot fought hard to be present on his old floor, against the franchise that drafted him in 2016. “I definitely feel better after a win, but to be honest I didn’t even feel my ankle on the pitch anymore”, did he slip after the match, while his name appears in the list of possible replacements for the All-Star Game.
Even on one foot, he was able to return a “triple-double”, his 18th career 24 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists. Suffice to say that his presence was more than precious since the Pacers won in overtime.
It was even necessary to wait for the very last seconds of overtime and in particular two failures in quick succession from Tre Mann and Mike Muscala near the circle so that the Pacers could claim victory. “We got a little lucky on the last possession when they had two easy shots, but that’s basketball. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t.”added the one Rick Carlisle dubbed ” the monster “.
For Justin Holiday, X factor of the evening with his 22 points, the presence of Sabonis completely changes the situation for Indiana.
“It’s great to be his teammate. Like the rest of the team, I love playing with him.”, he pointed out. “With his presence, when he receives the ball, he attracts the attention of several players who try to stop him. He knows how to score, he is able to make passes, and his line of stats speaks for him, with scoring, rebounding and assists. This is what our team needs. Every aspect of it helps our team. Having him back with us strengthens our cohesion as a team.”
After the winning return of Domantas Sabonis to OKC, the emotion and the opposition will rise a notch tonight for Rick Carlisle who will make his return to Dallas for the first time since his departure last summer.
| Domantas Sabonis | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | OKAY | 81 | 20 | 39.9 | 32.1 | 65.7 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 5.9 |
| 2017-18 | IND | 74 | 25 | 51.4 | 35.1 | 75.0 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 11.6 |
| 2018-19 | IND | 74 | 25 | 59.0 | 52.9 | 71.5 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 9.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 14.1 |
| 2019-20 | IND | 62 | 35 | 54.0 | 25.4 | 72.3 | 3.1 | 9.4 | 12.4 | 5.0 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 18.5 |
| 2020-21 | IND | 62 | 36 | 53.5 | 32.1 | 73.2 | 2.4 | 9.6 | 12.0 | 6.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.5 | 20.3 |
| 2021-22 | IND | 44 | 35 | 57.7 | 32.7 | 74.4 | 3.2 | 8.7 | 11.9 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 19.0 |
| Total | 397 | 28 | 53.2 | 32.2 | 72.8 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 14.2 | |
