Pacers finish strong to beat Pelicans, earn back-to-back wins at Fieldhouse
'Just win, baby!' was in full effect on Monday night as the Pacers struggled to put away the short-handed Pelicans but came up big late to secure the W.
The Pacers won their second consecutive game for just the second time this season, outlasting the Pelicans, 114-110. The win helps maintain the positive vibes from the win over Washington on Sunday night which has little to do with the opponents and more to do with the Pacers finding their stride as a team.
The wins over Washington and New Orleans were certainly low hanging fruit that had to be taken. Portland will be at the ‘House on Wednesday and the Trail Blazers seem to qualify as providing another low hanging W for the taking considering their poor health, particularly in the front court.
Like Sunday, the win over the Pels was far from impressive as CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III and Elfrid Payton provided plenty of resistance for the Pels. Yes, Elfrid Payton. The former Mad Ant has recently made it back to the league to help out the short-handed Pelicans and delivered a 21 assist game in his return to the Fieldhouse, where the Mad Ants play their home games. That assist number was the highest in the league since Haliburton delivered 23 dimes last season.
Still, the highlight of the game for the Pacers was the play and energy delivered by Haliburton who continues to work his way out of an early season slump. I mentioned how his assertiveness against the Wiz showed more confidence in his game and that energy went to another level on Monday night. Haliburton shot 18 threes and made 9 of them to raise his 3P% from 30.6% to 32.9% in one game.
Haliburton started finding the range in the second half of the Pacers game in Milwaukee on Friday. In the last three games he has made 18 of 39 threes (46.1%). Being a scoring threat makes the Pacers hum and when he has 34 points and 13 assists, the Pacers are in good shape.
After the game, Haliburton mentioned how he had been struggling, knowing that his poor offense was literally costing them wins. While he’s expressing confidence that he’s worked past his early issues, he also told The Pat McAfee Show that the Pacers were all good and he had found his mojo after his big game to beat the Knicks earlier in the season. So, let’s just worry about Tyrese stacking good games at this point.
Offensively, the Pacers had to deliver to hold off the Pelicans as the game remained within two possessions for most of the fourth quarter. A Pacers 5-0 over the final minute put the Pacers up six points, more than enough to absorb a late bucket by the Pels before the final buzzer sounded.
While Haliburton’s 9 threes brought plenty of flare to the Fieldhouse, his signature play came at the one minute mark in 4Q when a Pacers stop ignited a transition opportunity which ended with a jump lob pass to Mathurin for a two-handed flush at the rim. Big time play at a big time moment by two of the most dynamic Pacers on the floor. So smooth was the play, Mathurin was able to give a ‘good pass’ point to Haliburton while still hanging on the rim.
Mathurin has had better games, finishing with 12 points on 12 shots, but he did grab 9 rebounds and continues to hunt the glass like he does buckets. Quenton Jackson continued to start and made some big threes in this one, also adding 12 points to the cause.
Prior to the start of this homestand, I mentioned the Pacers had to be better in ways big and small to take advantage of the schedule this week. They have certainly been better, as hoped although far from great. Plenty of work ahead, but picking up wins by any means necessary is critical while waiting for the current rotation players out with injury to return.
The news on the return of Nembhard, Nesmith and Sheppard hasn’t been great of late, minimizing expectations for a return this week. Andrew Nembhard did go through a spirited workout prior to the game on Monday and appeared to be moving pretty well while running lightly, shooting and working on defense.
As for the Blazers, they are 4-3 in their last seven games but have had a rash of injuries in the front court with rookie Donovan Clingan (knee) and Robert Williams III (concussion) recently sidelined. Deandre Ayton (right index finger) is also questionable. The Blazers backcourt with Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons along with forward Deni Avdija offer a trio of players who can attack the Pacers defense similar to how the Pelicans did.
We’ll see if the Pacers can play even better to add a third consecutive win.
Pacers vs. Trail Blazers
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -10.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Quenton Jackson, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Coumara, Jerami Grant, Deandref Ayton
Injuries
Pacers: Johnny Furphy (ankle) - questionable, Ben Sheppard (oblique) - out, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - out, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out, Andrew Nembhard (knee) - out
Trail Blazers: Deandre Ayton (right finger) - questionable, Scoot Henderson (back) - questionable, Kris Murray (sternum) - questionable, Jerami Grant (knee) - doubtful, Donovan Clingan (knee) - out, Matisse Thybulle (ankle) - out, Robert Williams III (concussion) - out