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INDIANAPOLIS -- Pascal Siakam posted 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Pacers escape with a 104-98 win over the Wizards at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
The Pacers have won five straight games and 11 of their last 13 to improve to 48-31, surpassing last season's win total and putting them closer to clinching home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Wizards fell to 17-62 and sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.
All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and dished out six assists. Guard Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points and center Myles Turner posted 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Wizards forward Justin Champagnie posted 20 points and 13 rebounds and center Alex Sarr had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Here are three observations.
The Pacers just played the Wizards on March 27 in Washington, D.C. and rewrote their offensive record book with an NBA franchise record 162 points and a franchise-record 27 3-pointers. Their offensive performance on Tuesday was almost the complete opposite of that.
The Pacers scored 45 points in the first quarter of that March 27 win. At halftime on Tuesday they had all of 48 points. They had 83 points at halftime of the game in D.C. They didn't hit that mark on Tuesday until the fourth quarter.
And as far as outside shooting was concerned, the Pacers were 180 degrees different in this one. At halftime, they were 1 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half and missed their first four 3s in the second half before they hit another one.
They fell behind as many as 16 points and they never really had control until the fourth quarter. They finished 33 of 87 from the floor (37.9%) and 9 of 35 from 3-point range, posting just 1.05 points per possession. It was yet another in a string of uninspiring performances against lottery teams, but the Pacers still pulled it off.
Pacers news: The case for Tyrese Haliburton to make All-NBA
Though Haliburton has re-taken the mantle of the Pacers' franchise player over the last two months, Siakam has been the team's baseline constant all season. He seems to have been dealing with fatigue in recent weeks and he missed Sunday's game with right elbow bursitis. The rest seemed to treat him well as he was the Pacers' only reliable offensive weapon for most of the night.
Siakam scored each of the Pacers' first four field goals in the game and he scored eight of their 21 points in the first quarter. He was 4 of 5 from the floor and the rest of the team was 3 of 15 in the period. By halftime, he had 16 of the Pacers' 48 points and was 7 of 13 from the floor while the rest of the team was 9 of 33. He had the only 3-pointer as his teammates were 0 of 13 from beyond the arc.
In the second half the Pacers finally got some other players involved though they never really did find much of an offensive rhythm. He still finished with 24 points on 11 of 19 shooting including 1 of 1 from beyond the arc.
In order to steal a win on a night when they couldn't do much of anything on offense, the Pacers needed someone to step up on the defensive end, and center Myles Turner gave them the performance they needed on that end to help them pull it out.
Turner didn't have a great shooting night either, making just 4 of 13 field goals and 1 of 7 3-pointers for 13 points, but he grabbed 11 rebounds and most importantly registered five blocked shots. The Pacers' all-time leading shot-blocker still ranks second in the NBA among players with a qualifying number of games.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pascal Siakam helps Pacers escape with ugly win over Wizards
Continue reading...
The Pacers have won five straight games and 11 of their last 13 to improve to 48-31, surpassing last season's win total and putting them closer to clinching home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Wizards fell to 17-62 and sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.
All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and dished out six assists. Guard Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points and center Myles Turner posted 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Wizards forward Justin Champagnie posted 20 points and 13 rebounds and center Alex Sarr had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Here are three observations.
Pacers follow record-breaking win with ugly offensive performance
The Pacers just played the Wizards on March 27 in Washington, D.C. and rewrote their offensive record book with an NBA franchise record 162 points and a franchise-record 27 3-pointers. Their offensive performance on Tuesday was almost the complete opposite of that.
The Pacers scored 45 points in the first quarter of that March 27 win. At halftime on Tuesday they had all of 48 points. They had 83 points at halftime of the game in D.C. They didn't hit that mark on Tuesday until the fourth quarter.
And as far as outside shooting was concerned, the Pacers were 180 degrees different in this one. At halftime, they were 1 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half and missed their first four 3s in the second half before they hit another one.
They fell behind as many as 16 points and they never really had control until the fourth quarter. They finished 33 of 87 from the floor (37.9%) and 9 of 35 from 3-point range, posting just 1.05 points per possession. It was yet another in a string of uninspiring performances against lottery teams, but the Pacers still pulled it off.
Pacers news: The case for Tyrese Haliburton to make All-NBA
Pascal Siakam was the Pacers' rock in his return
Though Haliburton has re-taken the mantle of the Pacers' franchise player over the last two months, Siakam has been the team's baseline constant all season. He seems to have been dealing with fatigue in recent weeks and he missed Sunday's game with right elbow bursitis. The rest seemed to treat him well as he was the Pacers' only reliable offensive weapon for most of the night.
Siakam scored each of the Pacers' first four field goals in the game and he scored eight of their 21 points in the first quarter. He was 4 of 5 from the floor and the rest of the team was 3 of 15 in the period. By halftime, he had 16 of the Pacers' 48 points and was 7 of 13 from the floor while the rest of the team was 9 of 33. He had the only 3-pointer as his teammates were 0 of 13 from beyond the arc.
In the second half the Pacers finally got some other players involved though they never really did find much of an offensive rhythm. He still finished with 24 points on 11 of 19 shooting including 1 of 1 from beyond the arc.
Myles Turner helps Pacers win rock fight
In order to steal a win on a night when they couldn't do much of anything on offense, the Pacers needed someone to step up on the defensive end, and center Myles Turner gave them the performance they needed on that end to help them pull it out.
Turner didn't have a great shooting night either, making just 4 of 13 field goals and 1 of 7 3-pointers for 13 points, but he grabbed 11 rebounds and most importantly registered five blocked shots. The Pacers' all-time leading shot-blocker still ranks second in the NBA among players with a qualifying number of games.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pascal Siakam helps Pacers escape with ugly win over Wizards
Continue reading...
