Pacers’ Butler makes impact off the bench

Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel knew he was going to give Rasual Butler increased playing time in Friday night’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats. He had no idea it was going to be 23 minutes.

But that’s what the reserve swingman played in the Pacers’ 99-94 victory, 8 more than he had played the entire season going in. He finished with eight points and proved to be an effective option when Vogel wanted to rest Paul George or Lance Stephenson.

“I thought I would play him 15 minutes,” Vogel said. “But Paul got into a little foul trouble in the first half and we wanted to manage Lance’s minutes a little bit. It was a little higher than I thought it was going to be, but he played well and that’s part of it.”

Butler (34) is the Pacers’ oldest player and has 646 games of NBA experience, but he spent last season with Tulsa in the NBA Development League. The Pacers signed him mainly to be an extra body during training camp. But the combination of his strong play and Danny Granger’s calf injury allowed him to earn a roster spot.

Vogel and others said that strong play has continued into the regular season.

“He’s been playing great in practice,” said Indiana forward David West, a former teammate of Butler’s in New Orleans. “You guys (reporters) obviously don’t see that, but he’s been working his butt off and playing hard. He’s been making other guys work and making us better as a team.”

Butler said Vogel told him to expect to play 15-20 minutes.

“Just go out there and lean on the work you do behind the scenes and hope that that carries you,” he said. “I’m an experienced player. I know my game. I know how to get to it, my teammates know my game. Just go out there and try to take rhythm shots and try not to force things.”

Rivalry game

Stephenson (20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists) planned to celebrate his big game against Charlotte on Friday by heading to Cincinnati on Saturday night to attend the Crosstown Classic, the annual battle between Xavier and the University of Cincinnati, where Stephenson played for one season before being drafted by the Pacers in 2010.

He was trying to convince West, a former Xavier standout, to join him. But West said he was leaning toward staying home and getting some rest. He is a big boxing fan and was looking forward to watching the Adrien Bronner-Marcus Maidana fight Saturday night.

“I’m definitely going to support my team,” Stephenson said. “We’re going to get our ‘W’ and beat West’s team. He’s going to watch the fight. I am going to go watch my Cincinnati boys.”

George’s off game

The Pacers got the victory over Charlotte even though their best offensive player had his worst game of the season. George, who came into the game fourth in the league in scoring with a 24.7-point average, was just 2-for-12 from the field and scored a season-low 10 points.

Vogel took some of the blame during his postgame news conference.

“He just did not get clean looks,” said Vogel, adding that early foul trouble also may have had an impact on George. “That’s on me. I have to make sure we’re getting him in position to where he has some clean looks when he gets the ball. (Charlotte) made some great defensive plays because they’re a great defensive team. I think it was just one of those nights.”

George has not taken more than 17 shots in any of the last four games after taking at least 20 in the previous three. He wasn’t particularly pleased with his performance, but added it was good to see the rest of his teammates step up.

“I don’t want to say Paul was struggling,” Stephenson said. “Tonight he was just a little off and not making the shots he normally makes. Sometimes, you’re going to be off. You can’t have a perfect game every game.”

Call Star reporter Michael Pointer at (317) 444-2709.