Pacers swoop in late to steal W from Jazz, head off to Portland
The Pacers started their four-game Western Conference roadie like the plot to a Spaghetti Western: 'A Fist Full of W's' with Rick Carlisle starting in Clint Eastwood role.
It was hard not to chuckle after the final buzzer in the Pacers 112-111 win over the Jazz late Monday night. After struggling for so much of the 48 minutes, the Pacers closed the fourth quarter like they knew the ending, swiping the win in the last minute to leave the Jazz dumbfounded while holding an L.
The game seemed to follow the plot of a corny old Spaghetti Western with the outsiders coming to town, being friendly with the locals to make them comfortable. In this case, the Pacers gave up an early 17-0 run to the Jazz. While rallying from the early deficit, the Pacers continued giving up ‘good faith’ runs, rallying and then struggling to surge ahead before falling behind.
The Jazz enjoyed the Pacers company as the visitors struggled to make threes (10 for 42 for the game), were short-handed up front without Myles Turner which helped the Jazz outrebound the Pacers, 60 to 37. The Jazz even outscored the Pacers from the free throw line, 20 to 16.
Only the Jazz’s 18 turnovers to the Pacers 9 helped level the possession battle for the Pacers and eventually the Pacers turned on their hosts and were able to steal what they showed up for, a win to start their trip despite being short-handed, playing at altitude and not playing well.
It was a vicious turn of events over the final six minutes of the game when the Pacers turned villains with a deciding 23-10 run. With a minute to go, Aaron Nesmith forced a turnover that resulted in a not quite in rhythm 3-ball for Tyrese Haliburton. This was the type of shot the Pacers had been missing all night. But this one found the bottom of the net and suddenly the Pacers were ahead for good. The W theft executed to perfection.
On to the next town.
No one on the Pacers team had a great overall game, maybe Nesmith was the closest with his effort off the bench, but as Carlisle mentioned after the game, the team was resilient and found a way. Pascal Siakam finished with 22 points, Haliburton with 18 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
But Thomas Bryant had the signature performance, starting in place of Myles Turner. Bryant was 1-9 through three quarters and highly frustrated with his play, the refs, everything. After receiving a technical in the third quarter, he was even mad at Benn Mathurin for trying to hold him back and calm him down. But in the fourth quarter, when it mattered most, Bryant answered the bell and scored seven of his nine points during that closing run.
Like the Pacers as a whole, Bryant went from harmless outside to nasty villain for the locals inside the Delta Center. It was a ‘Just win, baby!’ situation that pushed the Pacers to two full games ahead of Milwaukee in fourth place in the East.
Now the Pacers face another challenge with a back-to-back in Portland against the Blzaers who have won their last four games and 8 of the last 10. Deandre Ayton has been playing like the player the Pacers front office thought he could be of late, scoring over 20 points in his last five games, including 25 points and 20 rebounds in Portland’s OT win over Phoenix on Monday night.
Yes, the Blazers will also be on a back-to-back as they appeared to go all in for the win over Phoenix, playing just 8 players with the starters all playing in excess of 40 minutes. While the Blazers didn’t have to travel, the circumstances for this back-to-back for the Pacers are about as good as it can get. Like Utah, the Blazers have some problem size to deal with, so it would help if Myles Turner could return. That seems unlikely considering Turner didn’t play on Monday, unless they just wanted to avoid playing him in both games of the back-to-back.
Among eight wins of late for the Blazers are wins over Miami, Orlando (twice) and Milwaukee which has helped the Pacers create some space between those teams in the standings. Hopefully, the Pacers don’t give it back at the Moda Center where they have struggled to win over the past several years.
Pacers vs. Trail Blazers
Where: Moda Center, Portland, OR
When: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, 10:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -5.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Thomas Bryant
Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton
Injuries
Pacers: Myles Turner (ankle) - questionable, James Wiseman (Achilles) - out, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Trail Blazers: Robert Williams (hand) III - questionable, Matisse Thybulle (ankle) - out