In some games, the box score simply speaks for itself. In this game, the Pacers box score was a work of art.

The Pacers shot a franchise record 66.7% on their way to 130 points as they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves for their first road win of the season. 

“I think the key was we just moved the ball as a team,” said Domantas Sabonis. He praised his teammates making the extra pass and making the right reads.

The franchise record was set on the strength of a 77% second half. Yes, that’s right, 77%.

The Pacers strong shooting also helped them have a big lead in rebounds over the Wolves at 42-27.

There are many standout performances for the Pacers tonight, but perhaps none were more impressive than Darren Collison, who finished with 15 points and 16 assists while the opposing point guard former Pacer Jeff Teague was quiet with only two points and seven assists.

“I thought Darren did a great job setting the tempo both offensively and defensively,” said Nate McMillan.

All 16 assists came in the first three quarters of the game. The Pacers had 31 assists as a team.

Domantas Sabonis scored 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting while adding 11 rebounds and five assists in only 25 minutes as he struggled with foul trouble in the first half. Sabonis continues to look very good and has played well in replacement of Myles Turner.

Victor Oladipo also continues his strong early season play. This time with an strong shooting effort of 11 for 16 to get his 28 points.

Bojan Bogdanovic had the best game of his Pacers career so far with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. The Pacers had struggled the previous two games with Bogdanovic on the floor, so this was good to see for his confidence.

Not to be forgotten, Cory Joseph scored 21 points while making five 3-pointers.

Stray Observations:

• TJ Leaf: Leaf’s offensive game is as strong as his defensive game is weak. His ability to drive on aggressive close outs continues to stand out, but his defense tends to give back whatever he gets on offense so far.
• Lance Stephenson: Stephenson continues to struggle with his shot, making just 1 of 5 tonight. He’s been forced to play the small forward position more this season which means he’s sharing the court with two ball-handling guards most of the time. Not an ideal position for Lance, who needs the ball to add value offensively. He needs to find his jump shot to kick start his confidence.
• Defense: The Pacers have now given up 60+ points in the first half of every game this season after giving up 41 in the second quarter tonight. The Pacers wouldn’t have to have incredible offensive nights to win if they can find some ability to slow the opponent down.
• Ike Anigbogu: Ike played some garbage time minutes and made a nice block at the rim, showing what he could bring to the table that no one on the team other than Myles Turner can: rim protection. It’s unclear if he’ll ever get the chance to play over Al Jefferson.