Pacers earn shot at sweep of Pelicans after home win
The Pacers home-and-home series with the Pelicans resumes on Friday night in New Orleans.
The Pacers jumped on the weary Pelicans from the tip on Wednesday at the Fieldhouse, winning the first quarter 40-24 and then held on for dear life the rest of the way until Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam closed up shop on the Pels and secured the 123-114 dub.
The Pels played at full strength on the second half of a back-to-back, but came out with an energy level similar to what we saw from the Pacers in their loss to Toronto on Monday in similar circumstances. But to their credit, the visitors actually ‘won’ that last three quarters rallying from double-digit deficits several times in the process.
When New Orleans cut the deficit to three points at 112-109 with 3:15 left in the game, a severe sense of ‘uh oh’ could be felt throughout the Fieldhouse. That trepidation turned to cheers 20 seconds later as Tyrese Haliburton eased his way back on the defensive end after draining a long 3-ball.
This was the start of a 9-2 run which included three Hali assists to Pascal Siakam at the rim and put the Pacers back up double digits with 1:17 to play. The W was secured with a classic close by the Pacers two stars. No worries.
Haliburton struggled at times, similar to Monday night, but rose up at winning time like a star has to regardless of the first 40 minutes of play. Teaming up with Siakam as a two-man closing crew, made everything perfect. Siakam finishes with a team-high 24 points, while Haliburton had 17 points and 13 assists.
There was plenty more good than bad in this one for the Pacers. Benn Mathurin was 4 of 9 from 3-land, finishing with 16 points. Off the bench, Ben Sheppard made 3 of 7 threes to add 11 points to go with his dogged defensive effort and Obi Toppin had a pair of threes and three highlight dunks to finish with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Lots of fun to be had in this one to earn the bounce-back win the Pacers desperately needed while they hang in the quagmire that is the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Pels are in a similar tight race in the West as both teams meet again in New Orleans on Friday night. Concerns are plenty considering the Pels shouldn’t be as travel weary as they were at the tip on Wednesday. Zion Williamson is always a tough cover, but Brandon Ingram is the real problem child for the Pacers. Ingram didn’t have a great shooting night, scoring 30 points on 20 shots, but he made it to the free throw line 13 times. He seemed to continually adjust to how the Pacers were guarding him, which included trying Andrew Nembhard and whenever Ingram had a smaller player on him he made his was inside, when a bigger defender was on him, he’d work from the perimeter. Should be at the top of the scouting report for Friday.
Another area to focus on for fun on Friday is the return of Jose Alvarado who was suspended on Wednesday. Alvarado is nicknamed ‘Grand Theft’ for his homage to TJ McConnell which includes hiding out in a corner before dashing in to swipe an inbounds pass. Always surprised how both Alvarado and TJ are continually successful considering it should be no surprise. They are masters at picking their spots.
Game Details
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
When: Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: Bally Sports
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: TBD
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Injuries
Pacers: Aaron Nesmith (lower leg)- questionable, Doug McDermott (calf) - out
Pelicans: Dyson Daniels (knee) - out