Luis Scola had a red welt on his left knee, a bump on the side of his head and a big smile on his face – despite the fact his son, Tomas, was wearing a white Pacers' jersey with Boomer's name on the back.

“He likes Boomer better than me,” Scola said from his seat in the Pacers' locker room, while Tomas sat at his feet.

Tomas might want to consider a wardrobe change, given the way Scola has been playing. He contributed 15 points, six rebounds and two steals to Sunday's victory over Philadelphia, a performance that's becoming more the norm than the exception, and a vital element to the Pacers' resurgence. Last season's uncertain and sometimes injured power forward has become a healthier and happier player, one who has quieted the critics who complained of the trade that sent Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee to Phoenix for him two summers ago.

Scola's battle scars were well-earned. He dove on the floor for a deflection three minutes into the second quarter, although it didn't pay off with a turnover. He got a steal early in the second period when he jumped into a passing lane on the wing, took a few dribbles and fed Rodney Stuckey for a fastbreak layup. He also dove on the floor for a loose ball later in the period. He finished the quarter with seven points on a tip-in, a layup and a fading shot in the lane.

After sitting out the third quarter, he started the fourth and within the first 92 seconds got a blocked shot and two mid-range jumpers. Later in the period, with the outcome in hand, he lunged out of bounds on the baseline and saved the possession by throwing the ball off a Sixer while falling into the photographers. He emerged from the pileup holding the side of his head, having caught the tip of his ear on a camera. He made that effort pay off, though, by hitting a 20-foot jumper when play resumed. And he followed it by dropping into the paint and picking off a steal at the other end.

Boomer couldn't have done any better.

Scola is averaging 9.3 points on 47 percent shooting, and 6.3 rebounds this season, in 20 ½ minute per game. Extrapolate the stats over 36 minutes and he averages 16.2 points and 11.1 rebounds, better than the forward who starts ahead of him, David West, who averages 15.5 points and 8.8 rebounds over the same time frame. There's more to consider than points and rebounds, but the bottom line is obvious: Scola is playing much better than last season, when he averaged 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Scola was hampered last season by a sore elbow on his shooting arm, but his improvement also has a lot to do with comfort. Last season was an adjustment, to new teammates and to the unfamiliar experience of playing off the bench. This season, he feels at home.

“It took me a little while to get used to (playing off the bench),” he said. “I obviously would have liked to play better (last season), but I think this year I'm more prepared. I kind of know what's going to happen and I can focus on what I can do on the court instead of focusing on what it would be like if I were to be more on the court.

“When you have a consistent role you get to know what your team is going to do and they know how you play and you know when you're going to get into the game and how many minutes you play. That helps.”

Scola also benefited from West's pre-season injury that kept him out of the season's first 15 games. Scola started in his place, and used that opportunity to build chemistry with his teammates and improve his conditioning and confidence. Frank Vogel could find a silver lining in a cloudburst, and that's one of the brightest of the season.

“Him playing the first part of this season as a starter and getting extended minutes with these teammates really helped him find a rhythm that he didn't have last year with new teammates and an unfamiliar system,” Vogel said.

Scola is representative of the balance that has propelled the Pacers to eight wins in their last 10 games and has them in the thick of the hunt for one of the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Since George Hill returned, they've been able to make up for the absence of a player of Paul George's quality with quantity. Ten players are averaging between 13.8 and 9.0 points per game. And that group doesn't include Chris Copeland, last season's fan darling, who is one of the team's more explosive offensive players, or Lavoy Allen, a 50 percent shooter easily capable of scoring in double figures if he gets double figure minutes. And that group doesn't include Ian Mahinmi, the backup center who's having the best season of his three with the Pacers, or rookie Damo Rudez, who's earned his way into the playing rotation and showed off his offensive potential by scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead a winning effort at Orlando on Jan.25.

All in all, the Pacers have 12 players who have scored 18 points or more this season, and six who have scored 28 or more. Is that better than having a couple of stars who average 20 or 25? Hard to say, really. Atlanta, which leads the East by 10 games, has five players averaging between 17 and 11.9 points. Golden State, which leads the West by 4 ½ games, has two breakout scorers in Klay Thompson (23.6) and Steph Curry (22.1).

The Pacers have no choice but to play the way they're playing in George's absence. They don't really have a player capable of averaging 20 points without a major disruption to the offense, although Vogel would like to get more scoring from Hill.

Hill, who leads the Pacers' scoring with a 13.8 average, could and probably will raise that as his minutes increase. He scored 17 on 16 shots in 32 minutes on Sunday. Vogel plans to increase those minutes whenever necessary, up to 40 and beyond. On this team, without George and Lance Stephenson, Hill is needed to score more, and he's adapting to the demand.

“I know I have to put the ball in my hands a lot more and be aggressive,” he said. “It's something I'm adjusting to. It's been fun so far.”

For everyone, lately.

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