INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The way Jalen Rose is playing the point guard position has caught the eye of Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas.

"Over the last two games, Jalen has been as good as anybody," Thomas said after Indiana continued its mastery of Vancouver, 95-75 Friday night.

Rose played only 28 minutes as Thomas got a chance to use his reserves with Indiana holding a double digit lead for the final 30 minutes.

Reserve Austin Croshere had 17 points to lead five Indiana players in double figures as the Pacers kept their NBA record perfect against the Grizzlies.

It was the eighth consecutive loss for Vancouver, which ends an eight-game road trip Sunday at Toronto.

Rose had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists with just one turnover in 28 minutes.

"When he plays like that, he gets everyone involved," Thomas said. "All the credit goes to Jalen. He understands what time of year it is. He's taken his game to another level in terms of getting everyone involved.

"He sees things on the floor and he makes the game easy for everyone when he plays like this."

Indiana, which opened a one-game edge over idle Boston in their battle for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, built a 20-point lead in the final minute of the first half. Vancouver never drew closer than the 56-41 halftime score and fell behind by as many as 35 points in the final period.

"It's been a brutal road trip. It's going to wear you down," Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe said.

As Vancouver travels, the players are thinking about where the franchise may be headed. The Grizzlies' owners have a Monday deadline to make their decision on a new location for the team.

"We are starting to weaken and other things are on our minds," Lowe said. "It's hard to stay focused for 48 minutes with everything going on. ... Whatever is going to happen on Monday, it will be a relief whatever the decision may be. Then we can get focused back on basketball."

Sam Perkins hit three free throws and a 3-pointer to ignite an 11-1 run as Indiana pulled away to start the second half. The Grizzlies missed eight straight from the field and had two turnovers before Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who led Vancouver with 21, hit a layup with 7:30 remaining in the period. Indiana built its lead to 34 twice in the quarter when it gave four of its starters the rest of the night off.

Reggie Miller scored 13, Al Harrington 12 and Travis Best 11 and a total of 10 Pacers scored.

Michael Dickerson was the only other Vancouver player in double figures with 18 points.

The Pacers held Vancouver to 30 percent shooting from the field (24-of-79).

Indiana never trailed and the game's only tie was at 2-2 as the Grizzlies lost to Indiana for the 11th consecutive time.

"I don't think there was so much what they did, but what we didn't do," Abdur-Rahim said. "We just hurt ourselves. We made a lot of turnovers (18) and we just didn't make plays, like blocking out."

Game notes
Vancouver's Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf did not dress for a third consecutive game due to back spasms. ... Indiana is the only team the Grizzlies have never defeated in their six-year history. ... Vancouver hasn't won since posting back-to-back victories over Portland March 6 and March 9. ... Croshere played only 27 minutes before fouling out and just missed having a double-double with nine rebounds. ... Rookie Stromile Swift matched his season-high of 11 rebounds and had four blocks for Vancouver. ... Indiana's winning margin was its second largest of the season, topped only by an 88-64 decision over New Jersey on Dec. 5.

Send this story to a friend