No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis is already a good player and, barring injury, will probably one day become one of the best players in the entire NBA.

But in the last 3:40 of the Pacers' 81-75 win over the Hornets on Saturday night he was merely David West's bitch. West, who only had 5 points in the first half as the Hornets raced to a 46-29 lead at the break, scored 20 more in the second half, including 8 points on 4-4 shooting in the final 4 minutes, all over the outstretched hands of Davis.

It was the same thing over and over. Catch the ball on the block. Drive, create contact, contested fadeaway, jumper or baby hook. Worked every time no matter how tightly he was being guarded by his former team.

Thanks to David West beast mode, which has saved the Pacers in probably half a dozen games already this season, the Pacers were able to come all the way back from a 22-point deficit to secure their 7th win in 8 games, moving up to 16-12 for the year.

The other big contributor of the night was Lance Stephenson, who scored 6 of his 10 points in the last 5 minutes, including massive putback from a Paul George miss that put the Pacers up by 4 with less than a minute to go.

George Hill was again solid. He had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists but hit some big shots during the Pacers comeback. Roy Hibbert had 5 blocks but only had 6 points as he was frequently embarrassed by Robin Lopez, who led the Hornets with 24 points, at the other end. Yes, Robin Lopez.

Paul George had 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, but he was clearly tired towards the end of the game and missed a bunch of shots badly -- though he did hit two big free throws to ice the game. In fact, the entire Pacers team was probably feeling a bit of fatigue on the second night of a back-to-back and apparently being stranded in Cleveland overnight.

Gerald Green missed the game with a sprainked ankle and the bench didn't do a whole lot. Mahinmi had 6 points, while Tyler Hansbrough had 4. DJ Augustin hit a free throw and that was it.

The Pacers get a bit of a break now as they don't play again until Wednesday night at home against the Bulls. It will be a HUGE game because they are currently tied for the lead in Central, with the Bulls holding the edge in percentage points. The last time the two teams met Paul George scored 34 points in an 80-76 win for the Pacers in Chicago, so no doubt the Bulls will be trying to get one back.

We're alive, yay!

The Indiana Pacers celebrated the passing of the Mayan doomsday prophecy by beating the Cavs in Cleveland, 99-89.

Not much to say except that I thought the Cavs were going to be more competitive than they were, having previously been routed by the Pacers in Indiana not that long ago. But then again, I didn't expect them to be missing NBA rebounding leader Anderson Varejao, who would have undoubtedly given Roy Hibbert fits. Instead, Hibbert finished with a team-high 18 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

All five starters finished in double figures plus Gerald Green, who followed up his season high against the Jazz with 14, including a ridiculous in-traffic slam that almost deserved the taunting technical that followed it.

As a team, the Pacers shot 48.8%, which is really really good for them.

Right now, 15-12 is not a bad place to be.

Count me as one of the surprised.

Perhaps sensing that the world is about to end, the Indiana Pacers played one of their best games of the season by thumping the Utah Jazz 104-84 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse last night. The game wasn't even as close as the score suggests, as the Pacers had a 22-point lead at the half and wasn't threatened for the remainder of the game.

Does this really mean the Pacers have turned the corner? After all, they are now 14-12 after starting the season 3-6.

Paul George has continued to show that he is a prime candidate for most improved this year, putting up an effortless 20 points to go with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. He shot 9-13, by the way. Gerald Green might have been game-high scorer with a season high 21 points, but most of those points came in garbarge garbage time -- including that sick dunk he threw down with the game all but over.

George Hill had another good shooting night with 20 points on 8-13 shooting, to go with 5 assists and 5 rebounds. 

David West struggled with his shot again, which is unlike him, but 13 points on 5-12 shooting isn't really that bad on a blowout night.

Roy Hibbert had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 5-10 shooting, which is nearly about as much as you can expect from him these days, as long as he continues to defend and block shots (he had 2 blocks last night).

DJ Augustin finally got some minutes again in garbage time and he played well, scoring 7 points on 3-4 shooting in 12 minutes. Perhaps it's time he started challenging Ben Hansbrough for the backup PG spot again?

RIght now, the Pacers don't look too bad. They have their young athletic scorer Paul George who can do everything on the floor. They've got their rock, David West, who can stabilize or rescue the team with timely baskets and great passes. George and West have become the consistent dynamic duo the team has sorely needed.

George Hill is proving to be an interesting point guard, unconventional in the sense that he's more of a scorer than a passer, but perhaps he's the right fit for this Pacers offense -- and besides, he has been deadly in the clutch. Roy Hibbert remains the defensive anchor, and if he can ever find his scoring touch in the post again, the sky's the limit.

Unfortunately, the bench remains inconsistent and can go from good one night to dreadful the next. On paper, they shouldn't be that bad. Mahinmi is an athletic big who plays defense and is a better scorer than he gets credit for, while Gerald Green can provide highlight reels and three-pointers. Tyler Hansbrough is their workhorse scrapper who can occasionally get hot against the right teams, and Sam Young is a strong defender on the wing. Oh, and DJ Augustin is not supposed to suck. If this second unit can someone come together, the Pacers won't have to rely on their starters so much and the team will be in better shape at the end of the season.

Perhaps when Danny Granger returns and shifts Lance Stephenson to the second unit he'll be the X factor that can steer the bench ship in the right direction. I only worry that moving Paul George back to SG will hamper his game.

Next up, the Cavs in Cleveland, provided we're all still here by then. The man in the black mask, Kyrie Irving, will be looking to get a bounceback game against the Pacers after struggling the last time they met, a 96-81 victory for the Pacers in Indiana on Dec. 12. It will be another one of those yardstick games for the Pacers.

Milwaukee is simply one of those teams the Pacers don't match up well against, primarily because of the quickness of their guards, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis.

As expected, the dynamic backcourt duo gave the Pacers all sorts of problems and combined for 55 points, with Jennings' 34 leading the way in their 98-93 win, their second of the season against Indiana.

But it was former Pacer Mike Dunleavy that provided the spark the Bucks needed by returning from injury to score 17 points, including a four-point play and a big bucket down the stretch to hold the Pacers at bay.

To be honest, it wasn't a horrible loss for the Pacers considering their careless turnovers (20!) and their problems with quick guards who can create their own shot off the dribble. Despite the crazy baskets Jennings was hitting (the Bucks would have been blown out if he was missing them), the Pacers were right there for the majority of the game and even had a chance to tie it with less than 30 seconds to go on a wide-open three from Paul George that missed off the side of the rim.

George Hill led the way with 18 points and 5 rebounds, while Paul George continued his all-round play after winning player of the week with a 16, 10 and 5 stat line, though he did have 5 turnovers. David West struggled tonight and finished wit 12 points and 6 rebounds, but spent most of the night complaining to the refs about no-calls.

Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson both returned from injury, with Hibbert putting up 8 and 10 in 28 minutes and Stephenson held to just 3 points. Ian Mahinmi was the best off the bench with 14 points and 5 rebounds.

The 13-12 Pacers need another winning-streak to get as far away from 0.500 as possible, and they can start with the next game, at home againt the Jazz tomorrow.

They may not have lost much on the offensive end, but the loss of Roy Hibbert in the second quarter to a bruised thigh certainly made me sweat a little. Fortunately, David West buckled down and entered beast mode in the second half, and George Hill and Paul George continued their stellar play as the Pacers overcame the Pistons 88-77 in Detroit, giving them their first three-game winning streak of the season.

The Pacers (13-11) have been one of the best defensive teams in the league this season largely due to the presence of Hibbert, who has become an anchor down low and a shot blocking machine. Sure, he might also be one of the most inept offensive centers in the league right now, but his defense is a big reason why the Pacers have been able to win games despite struggling on offense.

Hibbert already had 4 blocks in 15 minutes when he went straight to the locker room for treatment. Detroit kind of hung around because of that, especially after David West went to the bench with four fouls in the third. Pendergraph got eight minutes of play, but the guy who contributed most off the bench was Tyler Hansbrough, who had 11 points and 6 boards in 25 minutes, including a bunch of hustle plays.

In the end though, it was the stellar trio of West, Hill and George that got the job done. West exploded for 19 of his 23 points in the second half, pretty much toying with the Piston's defense, hitting step back jumpers, driving left handed layups and jump hooks. He also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists in an all-round beastly effort.

George Hill backed up his first career triple-double with 18 points and 7 assists, but what impressed me the most was that he did it on just 7 field goal attempts, hitting 5, while also knocking down all 6 free throw attempts.

Paul George, who had 15, didn't pour in the points tonight but he didn't have to. He struggled a little with his shot, hitting 6-16 (including 1-7 from downtown), but he did flirt with a triple-double by adding 8 assists and 8 rebounds, plus 4 steals and a block. George and West are really becoming a dynamic duo and have the best chemistry of any two teammates on the team.

Next up, another huge game on the line against the Central leading Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday. That team's lineup is all wrong for the Pacers, so hopefully both Roy and Lance Stephenson will be back from injuries by then.