Things didn’t look great for the Indiana Pacers entering the NBA restart after All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis suffered a significant foot injury, especially with the uncertainty at the time of Victor Oladipo’s status.
But Indiana veteran swingman T.J. Warren has taken his game to another level in the bubble. A much, much higher level.
In the Pacers’ restart opener, Warren went off for a career-high 53 points (20-of-29 FG, 9-of-12 3PT, 4-of-4 FT) to lead Indiana to a 127-121 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Warren followed that up two days later with a 34-point, 11-rebound, four-assist, four-block, and three-steal performance in a 111-100 win over the Washington Wizards.
And one day after that, on Monday, Warren dropped 32 points — shooting an incredibly efficient 13-of-17 from the field — on the Wizards in a 120-109 win. He scored 21 points in the first half without missing a shot.
Warren has scored 119 points over his last three games, tying Jermaine O’Neal (in 2005) for most points over a three-game span in Pacers history. He leads the bubble with 39.7 points per game, and is shooting 65.3% from the field and 60.9% on three-pointers.
Warren is the best player in the bubble right now, and if he can keep playing anything at all like he has through three games, the Pacers (42-26) will be a very dangerous team. The East is wide open, and we know it’s star’s league come playoff time.
Update: T.J. Warren keeps dominating in the bubble. On Saturday, he scored a game-high 39 points (15-of-22 from the field 4-) and nailed a three-point dagger, to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 116-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.